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Lions International History
The International Association of Lions Clubs began as the dream of Chicago businessman, Melvin Jones. He believed that local business clubs should expand their horizons from purely professional concerns to the betterment of their communities and the world at large.
Jones' own group, the Business Circle of Chicago, agreed and after contacting similar groups around the country, an organizational meeting was held on June 7, 1917, at the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago. A national convention of the "Association of Lions Clubs" was held in Dallas in October of that year, approving a constitution, by-laws, objects and code of ethics.
Among the official objects adopted in those early years was one which remains one of Lions' main tenets: "No club shall hold out the financial betterment of its members as its object."
In 1925, Helen Keller addressed the Lions at their annual International Convention, challenging them to become "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness." Since that time, service to the blind and visually impaired has become on of the association's most significant activities. That crusade has resulted in the establishment of International SightFirst, in 1990, an aggressive global blindness prevention program.
Forty million people are blind, yet 80 percent of all blindness is preventable or reversible. International Sightfirst is an unprecedented program which joins leading blindness experts, blindness prevention organizations, governments and Lions in an effort to establish long-term solutions in eliminating blindness.
The Chanhassen Lions support the activities of Lions International and also work very actively within the Chanhassen area donating money and time to further our community and make it a better place to live and work. Check out our Recent Events Events and Current Projects pages to learn more.
The Chanhassen Lions are always looking for the best way to spend the money that we raise each year. If you know of a worthy cause within the local area that could use the support of the Chanhassen Lions, please fill out our Charitable Review Request form.
Our charitable review committee will carefully review each request and make a recommendation to our board of directors. Although we cannot possibly satisfy all of the requests that are presented to us, we will respond to every request.
For addtional information about regional Lions clubs contact www.5m5.org. For addtional information about national and internation Lion clubs contact www.lionnet.com, and for information about Lion clubs in the Asiatic area contact www.Lionsnet.org.
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