Dr. Patrick Fuller was the first Charter President of the Killarney Lions Club. Since its formation in 1970 the club has grown in numbers and now has a large membership drawn from all areas of business and the the community. Please see the relevant pages of our website for details of our various activities and contact details. Read on to see how Lions Clubs came about. A Chicago businessman by the name of Melvin Jones once pondered, “what if people put their talents to work improving their communities?” From this question the Lions Club has grown into the world's largest service club organization, with more than 1.3 million members of more than 45,000 clubs in over 200 countries. He asked that question in 1917. In 1920 the Lions Club went international when the first club outside of the US was founded in Canada, Mexico followed in 1927 and international growth accelerated in the 1950s and 1960s with new clubs in Europe, Asia and Africa. In 1925 Helen Keller addressed the Lions Clubs International Convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, USA, and challenged Lions to become "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness." Since then, Lions have worked tirelessly to aid the blind and visually impaired. 1945: The ideal of an international organization is exemplified by our enduring relationship with the United Nations. We were one of the first nongovernmental organizations invited to assist in the drafting of the United Nations Charter and have supported the work of the UN ever since. 1957: Organizing Youth Programs In the late 1950s, Lions International created the Leo Program to provide the youth of the world with an opportunity for personal development through volunteering. There are approximately 144,000 Leos and 5,700 Leo clubs in more than 140 countries worldwide. 1968: Establishing Our Foundation Lions Clubs International Foundation assists Lions with global and large-scale local humanitarian projects. Through our Foundation, Lions meet the needs of their local and global communities. 1990: Through the SightFirst programme Lions are restoring sight and preventing blindness on a global scale. Launched in 1990, Lions have raised more than $346 million for this initiative. SightFirst targets the major causes of blindness: cataract, trachoma, river blindness, childhood blindness, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. Today: Extending Our Reach Lions Clubs International extends our mission of service every day – in local communities, in all corners of the globe. The needs are great and our services broad, including sight, health, youth, elderly, the environment and disaster relief. Please contact a club in your area if you would like information on how you can make a difference in your community. See our Links for further details. |
