Our History
1920: Going International: Just three years after our founding, Lions became international when we established the first club in Canada. Mexico followed in 1927. In the 1950s & 1960s international growth accelerated,with new clubs in Europe,Asia and Africa.
1925: Eradicating Blindness: Helen Keller addressed the Lions Clubs International Convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, USA, and challenged Lions to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” Since then, we have worked tirelessly to aid the blind and visually impaired.
1945: Uniting Nations: The ideal of an international organization is exemplified by our enduring relationship with the United Nations. We were one of the first non governmental organizations invited to assist in the drafting of the United Nations Charter and have supported the work of the UN ever since.
1957: Organizing Youth Programs: In the late 1950s, we created the Leo Program to provide the youth of the world with an opportunity for personal development through volunteering. There are approximately 144,000 Leos and 5,700 Leo clubs in more than 140 countries worldwide.
1968: Establishing Our Foundation: Lions Clubs International Foundation assists Lions with global and large-scale local humanitarian projects. Through our Foundation, Lions meet the needs of their local and global communities.
1990: Launching Sight First: Through Sight First, Lions are restoring sight and preventing blindness on a global scale. Launched in 1990, Lions have raised more than $346 million for this initiative. Sight First targets the major causes of blindness: cataract, trachoma, river blindness, childhood blindness, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.
Today: Extending Our Reach: Lions Clubs International extends our mission of service every day- in local communities, in all corners of the globe. The needs are great and our services broad, including sight,health, youth,elderly, the environment and disaster relief. Our international network has grown to include more than 206 countries and geographic areas.
Lions International Purposes
- To Organize, charter and supervise service clubs to be known as Lions clubs.
- To Coordinate the activities and standardize the administration of Lions clubs.
- To Create and foster a spirit of understanding among the peoples of the world. To Promote the principles of good government and good citizenship.
- To Take an active interest in the civic, cultural, social and moral welfare of the community.
- To Unite the clubs in the bonds of friendship, good fellowship and mutual understanding.
- To Provide a forum for the open discussion of all matters of public interest; provided, however, that partisan politics and sectarian religion shall not be debated by club members.
- To Encourage service-minded people to serve their community without personal financial reward, and to encourage efficiency and promote high ethical standards in commerce, industry, professions, public works and private endeavors.
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 others, to resolve such doubt against myself.
- To Hold friendship as an end and not a means. To hold that true friendship exists not on account of the service performed by one another, but that true friendship demands nothing but accepts service in the spirit in which it is given.
- Always to bear in mind my obligations as a citizen to my nation, my state, and my community, as to give them my unswerving loyalty in word, act, and deed. To give them freely of my time, labor and means.
- To Aid others 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 destroy.
The Lions Emblem
At the 1919 convention, there was a move to change the symbol, but a young attorney from Denver, Colorado rose to speak. His name was Halsted Ritter. “The name Lions stands not only for fraternity; good fellowship, strength of character and purpose, but above all, its combination of L-1-0-N-S heralds to the country the true meaning of citizenship: LIBERTY, INTELLIGENCE, OUR NATION’S SAFETY.”
The emblem consists of a gold letter “L” on a circular area. Bordering this is a circular area with two Lion profiles facing away from the center. The word “Lions” appears at the top and “International” at the bottom. The Lions face both past and future- showing both pride of heritage and confidence in the future.
