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Lions Clubs International Fact Sheet
2004 International Convention
87th Lions Clubs International Convention, July 5-9, 2004-Detroit,
Michigan, USA/ Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Membership
- World's largest service club organization
- Nearly 1.4 million men and women in 46,000 clubs in 193
countries and geographic areas
Mission
Since its founding in Chicago in 1917, Lions Clubs International
has been dedicated to helping the less fortunate in their
communities and around the world.
Lions activities include:
- preserving sight, working with the blind and visually
impaired and improving the health of communities
- inspiring youth to realize their potential through programs,
including drug education and prevention, international youth
camps, youth exchange and the Lions International Peace
Poster Contest
- providing immediate response and sustained relief in times
of disaster.
Lions clubs and members each year:
- provide an estimated 600,000 free professional glaucoma
screenings and make possible 25,000 corneal transplants
- collect an estimated 20 million pairs of used eyeglasses
for free distribution in developing countries and last year
shipped more than 7.3 million pairs to Lions Eyeglass Recycling
Centers
- provide free quality eye care, eyeglasses, Braille-writers,
large print texts and guide dogs for thousands of people
Based on a recent report of Lions clubs worldwide, it is
estimated that Lions clubs donate US$667 million and 65 million
hours of service each year. These figures are the equivalent
of nearly 31,000 people working full time for one year.
Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF)
Created in 1968, LCIF has approved more than US$338 million
in grants to support humanitarian service projects from China
to Chile and Ethiopia to Ecuador. SightFirst, Lions' major
initiative, funds projects that improve eye care and vision
services or establish new services where none exist. SightFirst
fights the major causes of blindness-cataract, river blindness,
trachoma and, especially in developed countries such as the
United States, diabetic eye disease and glaucoma.
The SightFirst program has approved 661 projects at the cost
of US$154 million that have:
- improved eye care in 79 countries around the world
- funded the development of 258 new eye care facilities
and upgraded more than 300 others
- provided more than four million cataract surgeries
- supported more than 55 million treatments for river blindness.
International Headquarters
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