Lions Clubs International Foundation

Lions throughout the world join together in supporting the Lions Clubs International Foun-dation. LCIF provides funds for relief from disasters such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and terrorist attacks. Such relief is administered by the local Lions District. LCIF also provides funds to aid in the construction of hospitals, clinics, schools and other humanitarian projects that are beyond the means of the local Lions Club and its community.

LCIF funded the development of the school curricula known as "Lions Quest Skills for Growing," "Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence" and "Lions Quest Skills for Living." These curricula provide elementary, middle and high school students with study programs to teach them proper decision making skills and how to improve relationships with parents, teachers, other adults and with their peers. The aim of these programs is to point children toward a wholesome, productive lifestyle and away from drugs. Lions District 22A assists schools and Lions Clubs in obtaining training for teachers of Lions Quest courses.

The Lions SightFirst program, initiated in 1990, is funded and coordinated through LCIF. Approximately 80% of the world's 45 million blind suffer from preventable or reversible conditions. In its first ten years, SightFirst funded 485 projects in 75 countries at a cost of over $100 million. These projects resulted in major progress toward eliminating preventable and reversible blindness throughout the world.

Lions Clubs International and Helen Keller

Lions Clubs were founded on June 7th 1917 in Chicago by Mr. Melvin Jones. The organizations growth was phenomenal, becoming an international organization in 1920. In 1925, at an international conference at Cedar Point, Ohio, Helen Keller was the keynote speaker. She charged the Lions Club to be the “Knights of the Blind in the crusade against darkness.” That has been the Lions Club challenge ever since and is the primary, but not sole,  focus of the clubs.