Lions

Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organisation with 45,000 clubs and nearly 1.3 million members in 197 countries around the world. The international headquarters is situated in Oak Brook, Illinois. more...

It was founded in the U.S.A. in 1917 by Melvin Jones and became truly International on March 12, 1920 when the first club was established in Canada--in Windsor, Ontario. Membership is by invitation and attendance at meetings is expected on a monthly or fortnightly basis. Politics, religion or other contentious subjects are generally forbidden at club meetings. Lions are truly a community-based organisation with a hierarchy that can take a member from a club to office at zone, district, national and international levels. An interesting aspect of the operation of Lions Clubs is that all funds raised from the general public are used for charitable purposes, with the administration costs of a Club kept strictly separate and paid for by its members.

The average age of Lion members is increasing and the average membership of clubs is decreasing in the Western world. This is typical of other service clubs such as Rotary International.

Spread of Lionism

• 1917 U.S.A.
• 1920 Canada
• 1926 Republic of China (Tianjin or alternately spelt Tientsin)
• 1927 Mexico (Nuevo Laredo)
• 1927 Cuba (Havana)
• 1955 Hong Kong and Macau (Hong Kong Island)
• 2002 People's Republic of China (Guangdong and Shenzhen, chartered on May 14 are the first international service clubs to be granted permission by the government of the PRC to operate in mainland China)

Lions Clubs International has had a history of support for the work of the United Nations since that organization's inception in 1945, when it was one of the non-governmental organizations invited to assist in the drafting of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco.

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