Kelley letter: Lions Clubs
Lions Clubs isn’t just about eyeglass collecting.
In 1917, Melvin Jones was a successful insurance agency owner and a member of the Business Circle of Chicago. He encouraged his fellow members to expand beyond their business interests and seek the betterment of the community, saying “You can’t get very far until you start doing something for somebody else.” He also contacted similar groups, inviting them to meet and discuss forming a new organization.
On our 100th anniversary there are 1.4 million Lions in more than 46,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographic areas, united by a single idea: “We Serve.” The first Idaho Lions Club, located in Malad, was chartered in May, 1923, and Lions have now expanded to over 80 clubs in Multiple District 39, serving Southern Idaho and Eastern Oregon, including several in the Boise Metropolitan Area.
The Idaho Eastern Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation (idaholions.org) was founded in 1969 and it belongs to the Lions Clubs comprising Multiple District 39. The Foundation has several programs such as Personal Assistance to help pay for eye surgeries, school vision and hearing screenings, a hearing aid program, eye glass recycling, Idaho Lions Eye Bank, and Idaho Lions Vision Clinic. The lives of over 90,000 people are impacted on an annual basis as a result of the outreach and assistance of these programs.
Curt Kelley, president Board of Trustees, Idaho E. Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation
This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Kelley letter: Lions Clubs."