Our history is a long one. And a proud one. For more than 100 years, we’ve served with uncommon kindness, putting the needs of our neighbors, our communities, and our world first. And we have a global foundation, Lions Clubs International Foundation, that has been empowering the service of Lions worldwide since 1968. We look back at our storied past with pride, but we know it’s only the beginning. Every day, we’re building on our legacy with the goal of making an even greater impact in the future. The Lions International Brand When we say Lions International, what we’re really saying is Lions Clubs International and Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), together. Our association and foundation are separate organizations with their own governing bodies. But together, we are Lions International. The Lions International brand connects both organizations under one master “umbrella” brand so we can talk to the world about our collective service and impact. In reality, the world sees us as one. They see us as Lions. And the truth is, we are united in our mission of service.

 What Lions Clubs International brings to Lions International 

Our 1.4 million members in 49,000 clubs bring hands and hearts to the communities we serve in nearly every country on earth. With the support of Lions Clubs International, Lions and Leos provide hands-on service, raise funds, and advocate to support local and global causes. Lions help hundreds of millions of people around the world every year.

 What Lions Clubs International Foundation brings to Lions International 

Our global foundation raises funds to provide grants and develops programs to empower the service of Lions and Leos around the world. LCIF is the 501(c)(3) charitable arm of Lions International. LCIF has awarded more than US$1.2 billion in grant funding since its inception in 1968 to magnify the impact of Lions and bring sustainable solutions to the communities that need us. One hundred percent of every donation goes to support LCIF grants and programs.

A Brief History of the Lafayette (LA) Lions Club

The current Lafayette (LA) Lions Club was charted in 1959, and for most of its history, it met at Don’s Seafood, a former and ‘storied’ downtown Lafayette restaurant, at noon on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month. (https://downtownlafayette.org/previous-home-of-dons-seafood-in-downtown-lafayette-finds-new-ownership/ ).

Club meetings were a combination of business meetings and lunch socials, and doing both went a long way to maintaining club cohesion and vitality over the years. However, starting in 1998 the club gradually shifted to evening meetings in order to make the meetings more accessible to new members who didn’t work in downtown Lafayette. By 2021, the transition to evening meetings was complete.

Today we still meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month. We continue our tradition of enjoying each other’s company with our social/dinner on the first Tuesday of the month. We meet at different local restaurants to touch base and enjoy each other’s conviviality.

On the 3rd Tuesday of the month we meet at the downtown branch of the Lafayette Public Library for our monthly business meeting. During the business meeting in addition to regular club business, we explore new opportunities for service to our community and fundraising ideas to support Lions International, the Eye Foundation, and the Lions Camp (see below).

Traditionally, our club membership has been mostly businessmen and government leaders. However, we have always been open to new members who are willing to make the Lafayette community better. Today, in addition to members from business and government, we have members from fields of education, law enforcement, medical, and science; and our members’ “stage in life” runs the gamut from student to retiree.

As a service organization, our main focus has been vision for the last 20+ years.  Working with the Louisiana Lions Eye Foundation (https://lioneyes.org) we have screened over 10,000+ children ages 3 to 10 for vision impairments in our local schools. We regularly lead the state in the number of children screened. This is because, in addition to Lafayette Parish, we are often asked to screen children in neighboring parishes that don’t have a Lions Club that can serve their schools and daycares.

Working with the Eye Foundation, we also sponsor people who need optometrist care and eyeglasses; and collect used prescription glasses that are reused in overseas medical missions.

In addition to vision, our club has supported the Louisiana Lions Camp (http://lionscamp.org) for children with disabilities. We support them with financial donations and by sponsoring children to attend the camp.

However, in addition to those ‘core’ functions we have provided volunteer power to various local service groups including church-based food aid organizations, a women’s shelter, Toys for Tots, and Habitat for Humanity.  We are constantly looking for other opportunities to serve.

Finally, our club has sponsored the establishment of other clubs. Most recently,  we sponsored the Breaux Bridge Louisiana Lions Club, now a fully independent club.  This tradition has continued as we are now embarking on supporting the re-establishment of a Lions Club chapter in New Iberia, Louisiana.

Like all volunteer service organizations, our club has morphed and adapted over the years as membership and circumstances have evolved. However, our members have always used the Lions Club International Motto as our North Star: “We Serve” or as we say here in Cajun country “Nous Servons”.   

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November 5, 2024 Social

 November 2024