Centenary of Lions International

Lions International Celebrating its 100 years this year, French Post issued a stamp on 29th May to commemorate the centenary of Lions International .

Lions International 1917 - 2017

"You can not get well in your life if you do not start doing something for someone else. "Reflection made by Melvin Jones in 1917 in Chicago where he ran an insurance company. A member of one of the clubs that flourished in the city and whose members met to promote their own interests, he proposed to combine their skills and offer their availability in order to "serve Others". Thus is born this community which takes its name: LIONS, acronym of "Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nation's Safety" (Freedom and understanding are the safeguard of our nations).

Its motto, "Serve", earned it a UN appointment - of which it is an advisory member - the world's leading humanitarian organization. One hundred years later, 1,400,000 members cover 210 countries and regions on five continents. In France, 27,000 members in 1,200 clubs have four main objectives:

- Safeguarding the view with the creation of the white cane, schools of guide dogs, setting up screening for eye diseases and diabetes, as well as sound libraries.

- Actions aimed at youth in difficulty, which take the form of holiday centers, cultural and educational promotion, measles eradication, participation in the Telethon since the beginning.

- Preservation of the environment through tree planting, waste recovery and well construction in Africa.

- Finally, the fight against hunger with the collection of food for the Food Bank.A total of 1.5 million hours of "self-giving" and a € 20 million harvest are provided by the Lions de France annually.

In July 2017, Lions of the World will meet in Chicago to celebrate their centenary with the challenge of saving 100 million people worldwide during the year! A challenge within their reach.