History of Lions Clubs International Melvin Jones 1879 - 1961 He joined a Business Circle, an organization to promote ones own interest. However, he thought, why not promote the needs and interests of communities? So, in 1917 he organized a meeting of business individuals in Chicago, Illinois, and formed Lions Clubs International. 1920 Canada joined.

History of Lions Clubs International 1925 Helen Keller addressed the Lions International Convention in Cedar Point, Ohio. As a result Lions became “Knights of the Blind in the Crusade Against Darkness”. 1945 Helped the United Nations develop their NGO section (non governmental organizations). Currently there are 1.3 million men and women in 45,000 Lions clubs in 205 countries and geographic provinces.

Melvin Jones Fellowship Program Created in 1973 as the highest form of recognition in the Lions organization, an honor to acknowledge an individual’s dedication to humanitarian service. Provides 70% of the Lions Club International Foundation’s revenue. Contributions of $1,000 can be made by Lions clubs, individual club members, or in behalf of individual members by Lions clubs. Our Anchorage Lions Club has pledged to raise $16,000, in the form of Melvin Jones Fellowships, over five years, starting in 2007.

Lions Club International Foundation Every dollar donated to LCIF goes toward a grant. Since 1968, when LCIF began, it has awarded 9,000 grants totaling US$ 640 million. The LCIF SightFirst program, launched by Lions in 1989, raised $143 million and prevented serious vision loss for 30 million people, and improved eye care services for hundreds of millions. On average every $6 in donations has resulted in a person with vision restored or saved from blindness.

Lions Club International Foundation The more than 900 SightFirst grants have: Provided more than 7.3 million cataract surgeries and prevented serious vision loss for 20 million people. Supported 114 million treatments for river blindness, Built or expanded more than 300 eye hospitals/clinics/wards and upgraded more than 337 eye centers with equipment. Improved eye care in 90 countries around the world. Trained more than 345,000 ophthalmologists, ophthalmic nurses, other professional eye care workers and village health care workers.

Lions Club International Foundation Campaign Sight First II was launched by Lions in 2005 with the goal of raising $150 million by the summer of 2008. When the deadline was reached, $200,329,000 had been raised. The Financial Times has ranked the LCIF the top NGO in the world. Lions is the only NGO allowed to operate in China. After the recent devastating earthquake, individual Lions clubs took the responsibility for a specific 10 day period of time, followed other clubs for the following 10 days.

Other LCIF grants for: Schools, camps, and homes for the disabled and disadvantaged youths. Combating disability, promote health and serve youth. Building countless homes for those in need, a program in partnership with Habitat for Humanities. Up to $10,000 for districts affected by a natural disaster that affects at least 100 people, including tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and typhoons. LCIF typically awards over $2 million in emergency grant funding each year for immediate disaster relief.