Service projects Lions Clubs plan and participate in a variety of service projects. Examples include donations to
hospices, or community campaigns such as Message in a Bottle, a United Kingdom and Ireland initiative which places a plastic bottle with critical medical information inside the refrigerators of vulnerable people. Money is also raised for international purposes. Some of this is donated in reaction to events such as the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the
2013 Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Other money is used to support international campaigns, coordinated by the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), such as Sight First and Lions World Sight Day, which was launched in 1998 to draw world media attention to the plight of sight loss in the developing world. Lions focus on work for the blind and visually impaired began when
Helen Keller addressed the
international convention at
Cedar Point,
Ohio, on 30 June 1925 and charged Lions to be
Knights of the Blind. Lions also conduct community hearing- and
cancer-screening projects. In
Perth, Western Australia, they have conducted hearing screening for over 30 years and provided seed funding for the Lions Ear and Hearing Institute established September 9, 2001, a center of excellence in the diagnosis, management, and research of ear and
hearing disorders. In Perth, Lions have also assisted in the establishment of the
Lions Eye Institute. In
Brisbane, Queensland, the Lions Medical Research Foundation provides funding to a number of researchers.
Ian Frazer's initial work, leading to the development of a
HPV vaccine for the
human papillomavirus which could lead to
cervical cancer, was funded by the Lions Medical Research Foundation. Lions Clubs International has supported 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, California.
International foundation , Germany Lions Clubs International Foundation is "Lions helping Lions serve the world". Donations provide funding in the form of grants to financially assist Lions districts with large-scale humanitarian projects that are too expensive and costly for Lions to finance on their own. The Foundation aids Lions in making a greater impact in their local communities, as well as around the world. Major initiatives of the foundation include the following: • SightFirst programs • Childhood Blindness Project • Lions Eye Health Program (LEHP, pronounced "leap") •
River blindness/
Trachoma • SightFirst China Action • Sight for Kids • Other sight programs • Core 4 Preschool • Vision Screening • Disability programs • Lions World Services for the Blind •
Diabetes Prevention/Treatment •
Habitat for Humanity Partnership • Lions Affordable Hearing Aid Project • Low Vision •
Special Olympics Opening Eyes • Youth Programs • LEO Clubs • Lions Quest • Highest Club recognitions • Model Clubs • 100|100 Clubs
SightFirst Upon endorsing the biggest ever collaborative
disease eradication program called the
London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases launched on 30 January 2012 in London, the organization has implemented SightFirst program by which it aims to eradicate blindness due to
trachoma, one of the
neglected tropical diseases. It has allocated over US$11 million in 10 countries for eye surgeries, medical training, distribution of
Zithromax and
tetracycline, and
sanitary services. It has also announced US$6.9 million funding to support the
Government of China for the same cause. ==Membership==