Editing Lions Clubs International

{{short description|International service organization based in the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox organization
| name                     = Lions Clubs International
| full name                = Lions Clubs International
| image                    = Lions Clubs International logo.svg
| size                     = 200px
| formation                = {{start date|1917|06|07}}
| type                     = [[Service club]]
| headquarters             = [[Oak Brook, Illinois]], U.S.
| membership               = 1,389,075<ref>[https://insights.lionsclubs.org].Lions Clubs International Insights</ref>
| founder                  = [[Melvin Jones (Lions Club)|Melvin Jones]]
| leader_title             = President
| leader_name              = {{ill|Fabrício Oliveira|pt}}
| website                  = {{official website|www.lionsclubs.org}}
}}
'''Lions Clubs International''', is an international [[service organization]], currently headquartered in [[Oak Brook, Illinois]]. {{As of|2020|01}}, it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing [[Leo clubs|Leo]]) in more than 200 geographic areas around the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fact Sheet |url=https://temp.lionsclubs.org/EN/pdfs/pr799.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803083430/https://temp.lionsclubs.org/EN/pdfs/pr799.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |website=Lions Clubs International |access-date=12 September 2019 }}</ref>

==Introduction==
[[File:Monumento a Melvin Jones (Madrid) 02.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Bust of [[Melvin Jones (Lions Club)|Melvin Jones]], the founder of Lions Clubs International, in [[Madrid]]]]
The Association of Lions Clubs was established in 1917 in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], by [[Melvin Jones (Lions Club)|Melvin Jones]],<ref>[http://lions100.lionsclubs.org/print/EN/about/timeline.php]. Lions Clubs International</ref> a Chicago business leader and a [[Freemason]].  The Association went international in 1920 when Border Cities Lions Clubs in Windsor, Canada, was established.  The name of Lions Clubs International has been used since then.  It subsequently evolved as an international service organization under the guidance and supervision of its secretary, Melvin Jones.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kleinfelder |first=Paul Martin Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRQubhue0YUC&dq=Border+Cities+Lions&pg=PA136 |title=LIONS CLUBS in the 21st CENTURY |date=2008-12-09 |publisher=Author House |isbn=978-1-4520-6337-9 |page=136 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1917, Jones was a 38-year-old Chicago business leader who told members of his local business club they should reach beyond business issues and address the betterment of their communities and the world. Jones' group, the Business Circle of Chicago, agreed.  After contacting similar groups around the United States, an organizational meeting was held on June 7, 1917, in Chicago. The Business Circle subsequently joined one of the invited groups, the "International Association of Lions Clubs" and at a national convention held in Dallas, Texas, later that year, those who were assembled:  (1) adopted a Constitution, By-Laws, Code of Ethics and an Emblem; (2) established as a main tenet "unselfish service to others",  (3) unanimously elected Woods as its first president, effectively securing his leadership for the first two years of the existence of the International Association of Lions, and (4) selected Jones to serve as the organization's secretary-treasurer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.william-perry-woods-md.com/ |title=The Fellowship of William Perry Woods |publisher=William-perry-woods-md.com |access-date=2018-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221144/http://www.william-perry-woods-md.com/ |archive-date=December 15, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
  
The Lions motto is "We Serve". Local Lions Club programs include sight conservation, hearing and speech conservation, [[diabetes]] awareness, youth outreach, international relations, environmental issues, and many other programs.<ref name=ldp>{{cite web |url=http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/resources_contact_leader.shtml |title=Leadership Development Programs |access-date=2007-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070910162740/http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/resources_contact_leader.shtml |archive-date=September 10, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The discussion of partisan politics and sectarian religion is forbidden. The LIONS acronym also stands for Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nations' Safety.<ref name=lionsacro>{{cite web |url=http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/who-we-are/mission-and-history/association-name-symbol.php |title=Association Name and Symbol |publisher=Lions Clubs |date=1917-06-07 |access-date=2016-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924184128/http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/who-we-are/mission-and-history/association-name-symbol.php |archive-date=September 24, 2018 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

==Focus==
===Service projects===
Lions Clubs plan and participate in a variety of service projects. Examples include donations to [[palliative care|hospices]],<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/4185894.stm | title= Lions share flower carpet riches | work= BBC News | date= 25 August 2005 | access-date= 2007-06-07 }}</ref> or community campaigns such as Message in a Bottle, a United Kingdom and Ireland initiative which places a plastic bottle with critical medical information inside the refrigerators of vulnerable people.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/4668172.stm | title= Scheme not bottling out of aid | work= BBC News | date= 31 January 2006 | access-date= 2007-06-07 }}</ref> Money is also raised for international purposes. Some of this is donated in reaction to events such as the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]] and the [[Typhoon Haiyan|2013 Typhoon Haiyan]] (Yolanda). Other money is used to support international campaigns, coordinated by the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), such as Sight First and Lions World Sight Day, which was launched in 1998 to draw world media attention to the plight of sight loss in the developing world.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/474116.stm | title= Webcast fights blindness | work= BBC News | date= 13 October 1999 | access-date= 2007-06-07 }}</ref>

Lions focus on work for the blind and visually impaired began when [[Helen Keller]] addressed the [[#International convention|international convention]] at [[Cedar Point]], [[Ohio]], on 30 June 1925 and charged Lions to be ''Knights of the Blind''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Helen Keller's speech to the Lions Club advocating for the post-WWII needs of the blind April 22, 1947 |url=https://www.afb.org/HelenKellerArchive?a=d&d=A-HK02-B213-F05-004 |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=www.afb.org}}</ref>

Lions also conduct community hearing- and [[cancer]]-screening projects.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Governor |first=MJF Lion Prashant A. Patil, District |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Df0sDQAAQBAJ&dq=Lions+Clubs+hearing+and+cancer+projects&pg=PA51 |title=Lions 323A3 District Directory (2016-17): Digital Edition |date=2016-10-02 |publisher=Signpost Celfon.In Technology |page=51 |language=en}}</ref> In [[Perth]], Western Australia, they have conducted hearing screening for over 30 years and provided seed funding for the Lions Ear and Hearing Institute established September 9, 2001, a center of excellence in the diagnosis, management, and research of ear and [[Deafness|hearing disorder]]s.<ref>{{cite web | title= About The Institute | url= http://www.earscience.org.au/institute/index.php | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061104173945/http://www.earscience.org.au/institute/index.php | url-status= dead | archive-date= 2006-11-04 | work= Ear Science Institute Australia | access-date= 2007-06-23 }}</ref> In Perth, Lions have also assisted in the establishment of the [[Lions Eye Institute]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hadden |first=Dr Bruce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o_WcDwAAQBAJ&dq=Lions+Club+Perth+Lions+Eye+Institute&pg=PT359 |title=Eye Surgeons And Surgery In New Zealand |date=2014-11-07 |publisher=Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited |isbn=978-1-77553-806-6 |language=en}}</ref> In [[Brisbane]], Queensland, the Lions Medical Research Foundation provides funding to a number of researchers. [[Ian Frazer]]'s initial work, leading to the development of a [[HPV vaccine]] for the [[human papillomavirus]] which could lead to [[cervical cancer]], was funded by the Lions Medical Research Foundation.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Leavenworth |first1=Jianmei Wu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2G1gEAAAQBAJ&dq=funded+by+Lions+Medical+Research+Foundation&pg=PA105 |title=Immune Cell Lineage Reprogramming in Cancer |last2=Shi |first2=Lewis Z. |last3=Wang |first3=Xi |last4=Wei |first4=Haiming |date=2022-02-22 |publisher=Frontiers Media SA |isbn=978-2-88974-473-2 |page=105 |language=en}}</ref>

Lions Clubs International has supported the work of the [[United Nations]] since that organization's inception in 1945, when it was one of the [[non-governmental organization]]s invited to assist in the drafting of the [[United Nations Charter]] in [[San Francisco, California]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lu |first=Chris |date=July 10, 2023 |title=Remarks by Ambassador Chris Lu at the 105th Lions Club International Convention in Boston, Massachusetts |url=https://usun.usmission.gov/remarks-by-ambassador-chris-lu-at-the-105th-lions-club-international-convention-in-boston-massachusetts/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929192221/https://usun.usmission.gov/remarks-by-ambassador-chris-lu-at-the-105th-lions-club-international-convention-in-boston-massachusetts/ |archive-date=September 29, 2023 |access-date=March 8, 2024 |website=United States Mission to the United Nations}}</ref>

===International foundation===
[[Image:Lions Club Bridge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Lions Club Bridge in [[Aachen]], Germany]]
Lions Clubs International Foundation is "Lions helping Lions serve the world".<ref name="lionsclubs2007">{{cite web |url=http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/lcif_grants_programs.shtml |title=LCIF Grants & Programs |access-date=2007-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102164023/http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/lcif_grants_programs.shtml |archive-date=November 2, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Donations provide funding in the form of grants to financially assist Lions districts with large-scale humanitarian projects that are too expensive and costly for Lions to finance on their own.<ref name="ft lcif">{{cite web | url= http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e230ea0e-294c-11dc-a530-000b5df10621.html | work= [[Financial Times]] | title= Case Study: Lions Club International Foundation | date= July 5, 2007 | access-date= 2007-11-03 | archive-date= September 23, 2013 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130923034415/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e230ea0e-294c-11dc-a530-000b5df10621.html | url-status= dead }}</ref>
The Foundation aids Lions in making a greater impact in their local communities, as well as around the world. Major initiatives of the foundation include the following:
*SightFirst programs
**Childhood Blindness Project
**Lions Eye Health Program (LEHP, pronounced "leap")
** [[River blindness]]/[[Trachoma]]
**SightFirst China Action
**Sight for Kids
*Other sight programs
**Core 4 Preschool
**Vision Screening
*Disability programs
**Lions World Services for the Blind 
** [[Diabetes]] Prevention/Treatment
** [[Habitat for Humanity]] Partnership
**Lions Affordable Hearing Aid Project
**Low Vision
** [[Special Olympics]] Opening Eyes
*Youth Programs
**LEO Clubs
**Lions Quest<ref name="lionsclubs2007"/>
**Lion Cubs<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coventrylions.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=38:lion-cubs&Itemid=58&layout=default|title=Lion Cubs|publisher=Coventry Lions|access-date=2013-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410063057/http://www.coventrylions.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=38:lion-cubs&Itemid=58&layout=default|archive-date=April 10, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*Highest Club recognitions
**Model Clubs
**100|100 Clubs

===SightFirst===

Upon endorsing the biggest ever collaborative [[Eradication of infectious diseases|disease eradication program]] called the [[London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases]] launched on 30 January 2012 in London, the organization has implemented SightFirst program by which it aims to eradicate blindness due to [[trachoma]], one of the [[neglected tropical diseases]]. It has allocated over US$11 million in 10 countries for eye surgeries, medical training, distribution of [[Zithromax]] and [[tetracycline]], and [[sanitation|sanitary services]]. It has also announced US$6.9 million funding to support the [[Government of China]] for the same cause.<ref>{{cite web|author= Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation|title= Private and Public Partners Unite to Combat 10 Neglected Tropical Diseases by 2020|date= 30 January 2012|url= http://www.gatesfoundation.org/media-center/press-releases/2012/01/private-and-public-partners-unite-to-combat-10-neglected-tropical-diseases-by-2020|work= gatesfoundation.org|publisher= Press Room, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation|access-date= 2013-05-30|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130314153950/http://www.gatesfoundation.org/media-center/press-releases/2012/01/private-and-public-partners-unite-to-combat-10-neglected-tropical-diseases-by-2020|archive-date= March 14, 2013|url-status= dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author= Uniting to Combat NTDs |title= Endorsements (endorsing organizations) |year= 2012 |url= http://www.unitingtocombatntds.org/endorsements |work= unitingtocombatntds.org |publisher= Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases |access-date= 2013-05-30 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130525030923/http://www.unitingtocombatntds.org/endorsements |archive-date= May 25, 2013 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

==Membership==
Membership in the Lions Club is by "invitation only" as mandated by its constitution and by-laws. All member applicants need a sponsor who is an active member and of good standing in the club they intend to join. While sponsorship may be obtained by an applicant in order to become a legitimate member, sponsorship is no guarantee of membership. Acceptance of membership is still subject to the approval of the majority of the club's board of directors. A Lions Club chooses its members diligently as it requires time and financial commitments. Prospective applicants must be a person of good moral character in his or her community. Attendance at meetings is encouraged on a monthly or [[fortnight]]ly basis. Due to the [[hierarchy|hierarchical]] nature of Lions Clubs International, members have the opportunity to advance from a local club to an office at the zone, district, multiple district, and international levels.

In 1987 the constitution of Lions Clubs International was amended to allow for women to become members.<ref>{{cite web|title=Women in Lions|date=2009-11-29|url=http://4c1lions.org/womenmembers.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130112061258/http://4c1lions.org/womenmembers.htm|archive-date=January 12, 2013|access-date=November 29, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=LIONS ADMIT WOMAN, LOSE SOME MEN |newspaper=Washington Post |date=1998-01-25 |access-date=2022-01-17|
url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1998/01/25/lions-admit-woman-lose-some-men/63762453-e75a-46f1-843e-fbf782423ab1/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-07-05-mn-2330-story.html| title=Lions Club International Ends Ban on Women |date=1987-07-05 |access-date=2022-01-17 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Since then many clubs have admitted women, but some all-male clubs still exist. In 2003, 8 out of 17 members at the Lions Club in [[Worcester, England|Worcester]], England, resigned when a woman joined the club.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hereford/worcs/2931370.stm | title= Club members quit when female joins | work= BBC News | date= 23 May 2003 | access-date= 29 November 2009 }}</ref>

Among the famous and noteworthy members of Lions International are former U.S. President [[Jimmy Carter]],<ref>[http://www.lionsclubs.org/resources/EN/pdfs/press-releases/2014-05-16-lcif-carter-center-announce-expanded-partnership.pdf Press Release] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204182705/http://www.lionsclubs.org/resources/EN/pdfs/press-releases/2014-05-16-lcif-carter-center-announce-expanded-partnership.pdf |date=February 4, 2016 }}. Lions Clubs International (2014-05-16)</ref> [[Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh]], a member of the Wokingham Lions Club and Royal Patron of the Lions Clubs of the British Isles,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lionsclubs.co/Public/stories-and-history/ |title=Stories and history &#124; Lions Clubs International |publisher=Lionsclubs.co |access-date=2016-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203135407/http://lionsclubs.co/Public/stories-and-history/ |archive-date=February 3, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Sir Edmund Hillary]], a member of the Remuera Lions Club in New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kingston |first=Tara |title=Service organization: Lions Clubs International |url=https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/2009/04/07/service-organization-lions-clubs-international/46470287007/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=Canton Repository |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Expansion ==

[[Image:HK Lion International at the Peak of HK island.jpg|thumb|International Lions Club Hong Kong.|left]]
[[File:Lions Club Involvement Map.svg|thumb|right|300px|Map showing Lions Clubs involvement around the globe.]]
[[File:Chicago February 1970.tif|thumb|Lions International Building visible in Chicago in 1970.]]
The organization expanded internationally on 12 March 1920, when a club opened in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. In 1937 the club expanded to San Juan in Puerto Rico.<ref name="Puerto Rico Office of Historian 1949">{{cite book | author=Puerto Rico. Office of Historian | title=Tesauro de datos historicos: indice compendioso de la literatura histórica de Puerto Rico, incluyendo algunos datos inéditos, periodísticos y cartográficos | publisher=Impr. del Gobierno de Puerto Rico|issue=v. 2 | year=1949 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IVRnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA153| language=es | access-date=4 January 2020 | page=153}}</ref> Currently Lions Clubs operate in more than 200 countries and have over 1.4 million members.<ref name="factsheet">{{cite web |url=http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/common/pdfs/pr799.pdf |title=PR799 EN Fact Sheet |access-date=2014-04-08 |date=May 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704204750/http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/common/pdfs/pr799.pdf |archive-date=July 4, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

[[Saudi Arabia]] was one of the last countries without a Lions Club. The first Chartered Club in Saudi was founded by a [[Filipinos|Filipino]] group from [[Batangas]] in the year 2019. The club was named '''''Batangas-Saudi 101 Lions Club'''''.

== Convention ==
{{Anchor|International Convention}}<!--Old section name-->
An international convention is held annually in cities across the globe for members to meet other Lions, elect the coming year's officers, and partake in the many activities planned.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cole |first=Carrie |title=What Happens at LionsCon |url=https://lionscon.lionsclubs.org/event-experience/what-happens-at-lionscon/ |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=LionsCon |language=en-US}}</ref> At the convention, Lions can participate in elections and parades, display and discuss fundraisers and service projects, and trade pins and other souvenirs.  The first convention was held in 1917, the first year of the club's existence, in [[Dallas, Texas]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Register |first=Special to The |date=2017-05-10 |title=100 years of service: Lions Club International |url=https://www.richmondregister.com/news/100-years-of-service-lions-club-international/article_372e69f8-34ed-11e7-870b-5ba27a019d73.html |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=Richmond Register |language=en}}</ref> The 2006 convention was due to be held in [[New Orleans]], but damage sustained during [[Hurricane Katrina]] meant that the convention had to be relocated to [[Boston]].<ref>{{cite news | title= Lions will be roaring into town | work= The Boston Globe | date= March 5, 2006 | access-date=2007-06-07 |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/03/05/lions_will_be_roaring_into_town/ | first=Glenn | last=Yoder}}</ref> The latest convention was held in [[Melbourne]] from 21 to 25 June 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Floyd |first=Lion |date=2019-05-30 |title=2024 Lions International Convention – Melbourne, Australia (2024-06-21) |url=https://texaslions.org/event/2024-lions-international-convention-melbourne-australia/ |access-date=2024-07-19 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.lionsclubs.org}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Lions Clubs International| ]]
[[Category:Service organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Chamblee, Georgia]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1917]]
[[Category:Men's organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Clubs and societies in Canada]]