LIONS CLUBS in the 21st CENTURY

Book excerpt: This is the story of a special type of men and women, those who seek to return to society a portion of the good fortune they have earned and received in their own lives. They are called Lions and, since 1917, have actively engaged in constructing an organization that has evolved into one of the world’s most powerful forces for humanitarian progress: The International Association of Lions Clubs. It is today comprised of nearly 1.3 million members in over 45,000 Lions clubs active in 202 lands spanning the globe. They speak scores of languages and represent diversified cultures. In spirit, however, they speak a common language, the language of voluntary service, responding to an inner drive to answer human needs and to improve living conditions in their own communities and the world community. This book expands upon the history of Lions Clubs International, published in 1991 as “We Serve: The History of the Lions Clubs.” It chronicles the development of the association from its birth in 1917 at Chicago’s LaSalle Hotel in June of that year and at its first convention at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas later in October. It relates 90 years of the association’s life span and emphasizes the work of Lions on the world scene, including the tremendous success of the Lions Clubs International Foundation, SightFirst, Campaigns SightFirst I and II, programs for youth, and other activities that have elevated the stature of Lions wherever they serve. Readers will be impressed with the accomplishments of the membership and Lions will be moved to take greater pride in wearing the lapel pin of the association. Non-Lions will come to understand fully the ideals and determination of those to whom voluntary service has become a way of life.