Who We Are
History of the Lions
Since 1917, Lions Club International has worked diligently to provide service to the blind and visually impaired. Our organization has remained committed to Helen Keller’s 1925 challenge that Lions become "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness." In addition to sight programs, Lions Clubs around the world provide youth services and work to improve the environment, build homes for the disabled, support diabetes education, conduct hearing programs, and provide disaster relief. With well over 1 million members, Lions Club International is the largest service organization in the world.
Our Club
Chartered in 1980, the Coral Springs Downtown Lions Club is one of at least 45,000 Lions clubs in over 200 countries and geographic areas. Last year, under the leadership of club president Fred Kraft, we had a very productive year of fundraising and community service. We also added 8 new, energetic members to the club, bringing our membership to nearly 40 Lions!
We supported many worthwhile causes with the charitable donations we collected. We contributed to local youth programs, including the Broward Health Foundation’s Camp Koral Kids for insulin-dependent children, and Challenger Baseball for disabled players of all ages. Visits by the club’s mascot, “Leo the Lion,” were greatly enjoyed by all the children! We funded a variety of sight-related outreach programs, including the Florida Lions Camp, a facility in Lake Wales for children with visual and other disabilities. We also participated in the American Diabetes Association Step-Out walk at the BankAtlantic Center, raising over $3,000 in contributions and becoming one of the top ten fundraising teams for this terrific event.
"We Serve" is the Lions’ motto, and we were indeed very active in meeting the needs of our community. We partnered with the Department of Parks and Recreation and a dozen great community volunteers in cleaning up and beautifying Lions Park (at Riverside Dr. and Sample Rd.), which benefits both the city and the students at Hunt Elementary School. We sponsored a local Peace Poster art contest for 11 to 13 year-old students at Central Charter School, which enabled inspired young artists to share their vision of peace and to compete for advancement to international judging. In addition, five of our club members completed certification training as diabetes screeners. Our club can now organize community screenings to help in the early detection of diabetes, which is a growing health crisis in this country and is the leading cause of preventable blindness in adults.
As in years past, we have continued helping financially-challenged individuals obtain eyeglasses and eye care services, and we have collected used eyeglasses and hearing aids to be recycled and distributed to those in need. We participated in the “Adopt-a-Street” clean-up program, served as parade marshals in the annual Holiday Parade, partnered with the city’s employees in their Thanksgiving Food Drive, collected holiday toys for a children’s shelter, and collected essential goods for a women’s shelter. To top it off, “Leo the Lion” visited the pediatric ward at Coral Springs Medical Center, bringing cheer to uplift the children!
We are looking forward to a new and exciting year of service and fundraising under the leadership of club president Ralph Russo.
Our Organizational Structure
There are 1.35 million Lions in more than 45,000 Lions clubs in 206 countries and geographic regions. Clubs help fund LCI’s charitable arm, the Lions Clubs International Foundation (www.lcif.org), through a portion of membership dues, participation in the Melvin Jones Fellowship program, and additional pledges.
In MD-35, spanning Florida and the Bahamas, there are 6,276 members in 273 Lions Clubs. It is governed by a council of district governors from 4 component districts, L-I-O-N. There are many multiple district-supported charitable organizations and district-sponsored outreach programs that individuals clubs donate funds to and can become involved in each year.
District 35-N counties include: Indian River, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Glades, Hendry, and the country of Bahama.
Publications: District Newsletter
