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Contact:
Nicole Brown
Lions Clubs International Foundation
630-468-6887
E-mail: Nicole.Brown@lionsclubs.org
For Immediate Release
Lions Leaders to Address Global Summit
OAK BROOK, Illinois, USA, September 19, 2007—Mahendra Amarasuriya, president of Lions Clubs International, and Jimmy Ross, chairperson of Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) will address world leaders during the Global Policy Summit on the Well-being of People with Intellectual Disabilities on October 3, 2007 in Shanghai, China. Special Olympics International, along with the China Disabled Persons Federation and the 2007 World Games Organizing Committee, are co-hosting the Global Policy Summit. Leaders from government, academia, health care, disability, business, philanthropy and sport will gather to discuss the challenges and opportunities for full inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. They are also expected to announce their continued commitment to action.
Other leaders expected to address the Summit are: Hui Laingyu, Vice Premier, People’s Republic of China; Dr. Timothy Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics International; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California; Ann Veneman, Director of UNICEF; Muhtar Kent, President and COO of the Coca Cola Company and Margaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of Education.
The Global Summit will be held in conjunction with the 2007 Special Olympics World Games October 2-11. Almost 7,500 athletes, 40,000 volunteers and 3,500 event officials as well as thousands of families, volunteers, spectators and journalists from every continent will be involved in the games. Special Olympics athletes of all ability levels will compete in 25 different competitive and demonstration sports. An opening ceremony on October 2 will officially launch the games in Shanghai, and both the Lions president and chairperson will attend the kick-off event, which will include the Parade of Athletes, the culmination of the Final Leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run and lighting of the Special Olympics cauldron.
Chairperson Ross will also help launch the Healthy Athletes screenings during a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 2. The Healthy Athletes program has seven components, which provide athletes with a variety of health screenings and diagnostics. The Special Olympics-Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes program, the vision screening component of the Healthy Athletes program, is an ambitious initiative funded by LCIF through a Core 4 grant.
The partnership program began in 2001, and LCIF has given more than US$9 million in grant funding. Opening Eyes vision screenings take place at select Special Olympics sporting events worldwide. The two organizations are dedicated to serving those in need; the combined efforts help a population whose needs are often overlooked. Lions volunteers play an integral part in the success of the program through hands-on event support. Lions volunteers help with registration, color vision testing, visual acuity tests and distribution of glasses and protective sports goggles for athletes. Through the partnership, more than 100,000 Special Olympics athletes have had their vision tested and more than 8,000 Lions have participated in the screenings.
Lions clubs members from Districts 303, 380, 381, and Beijing (undistricted) will be volunteering at the Opening Eyes screening during the games. Opening Eyes provides Lions in China, as well as around the world, with visible volunteer type opportunities. Lions Clubs International was the first service club organization in China in 2002, and today there are 1,800 members across mainland China.
In July, Dr. Timothy Shriver addressed the 15,000 Lions in attendance at the Lions Clubs International Convention. Shriver was presented with the 2007 Lions Humanitarian Award, the highest accolade bestowed by the organization. He said, “Thousands of Special Olympics athletes' lives have been transformed through the Opening Eyes program. Together with Lions Clubs International, we are showing how a strong social partnership makes a sustainable impact on the global, underserved intellectual disability population.”
Lions Clubs International Foundation provides grant funding to Lions districts for large-scale humanitarian projects too extensive for Lions to finance on their own. LCIF is the charitable arm of Lions Clubs International, the largest service club organization in the world with 1.3 million members in 200 geographic areas and countries. The Foundation aids Lions in making a greater impact in their local communities, as well as around the world. LCIF was recently ranked the number one NGO in a Financial Times study. Through LCIF, Lions ease pain and suffering and bring healing and hope to people worldwide. For more information, visit www.lcif.org.
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