WHAT ARE LIONS?
Who Are Lions..
Lions are more than 1.3 million strong...men and women... young and old. You will find us in more than 200 countries and geographical areas from the hinterlands of Australia and Brazil to thriving urban centers like New York City and Milan. We speak dozens of languages and vary in nature and customs.
We share a common spirit. Since our beginning in 1917, we have been united in a single cause: helping those less fortunate. We are tackling the tough problems like blindness and drug abuse as well as diabetes awareness--and finding help and training for the deaf, disabled, underprivileged and the elderly. In fact, whatever the community needs to make life better, we're there to help.
We are the youngest service club community based organization, yet we have grown to be the world's largest. We are succeeding because we have embraced all those committed to building a brighter future for the world and for themselves.
And, with a new generation of enlightened members, Lions clubs are working smarter and faster with greater commitment than ever before.
What Lions Do..
Bringing Rays Of Light To Thousands
For more than 85 years, lions have been recognized throughout the world for their services to the blind and visually impaired. Back in 1925, when Helen Keller challenged the Lions to become "Knights of the Blind," she could not have possibly imagined the impact of Lions commitment to blindness prevention.
Bringing rays of light to the darkness of countless people around the world, Lions have established the majority of eye banks worldwide, funded ground-breaking research on leading causes of blindness, organized eyeglass recycling efforts and helped hundreds of thousands of visually impaired people develop the skills to live productive lives.
SightFirst: Eliminating Blindness Worldwide
Lions launched SightFirst in 1990 as an aggressive attack on the rising tide of blindness around the world. Forty-five million people are blind, yet 80 percent of all blindness is preventable or reversible.
Developed as a bold response to the World Health Organization's prediction that the number of people who are blind would double in 25 years, SightFirst works to close the gap between existing health care services and those that are needed.
Topping more than $140 million in funds raised through a major, three-year fundraising drive, Lions have initiated SightFirst programs in more than 48 countries on five continents. Lions have joined with governments, ophthalmic professionals and other organizations to help establish long-term solutions in health care infrastructure, training of health care professionals, treatment and public education.
Lions Clubs International Foundation: Making A World Of Difference
Incorporated in 1968, Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) is the charitable arm of the organization. Through gifts to LCIF, Lions serve a broader community than would otherwise be possible. Lions have reached out across all borders to purchase equipment for an eye bank in western Korea... to construct a hospice for children with disabilities in France... and to fund treatment for diabetic eye disease in Newfoundland, Canada.
LCIF has approved more than $280 million in grants. This includes grants for the SightFirst Program, humanitarian services, disaster relief and vocational assistance.
The foundation receives contributions from Lions and others, reaffirming the strong belief that many people working together can achieve more than individuals working alone.
Lions Code of Ethics
TO SHOW my faith in the worthiness of my vocation
By industrious application to the end that I may
Merit a reputation for quality of service
TO SEEK success and to demand all fair
Remuneration or profit as my just due, but to accept
No profit or success at the price of my own self-
Respect lost because of unfair advantage taken or
Because of questionable acts on my part.
TO REMEMBER that in building up my business it
Is not necessary to tear down another's; to be loyal
To my clients or customers and true to myself.
WHENEVER a doubt arises as to the right or ethics
Of my position or action towards my fellow men, to
Resolve such doubt against myself.
TO HOLD friendship as and end and not a means.
To hold that true friendship exists not on account of
The service performed by one to another, but that
True friendship demands nothing but accepts service
In the spirit in which is given.
ALWAYS bear in mind my obligations as a citizen to
My nation my state and my community, and to give
To them my unswerving loyalty in Word, Act and
Deed. To give them freely of my time, labor and
Means.
TO AID my fellow men by giving my sympathy to
those in distress, my aid to the weak, and my
Substance to the needy.
TO BE CAREFUL with my criticism and liberal with
My praise, to build up and not to destroy.