It is the vision of the MU Lions Club (chartered May 2014) to foster a sense of community between the Mizzou family and the citizens of Columbia and to instill in Mizzou students the importance of giving something back.
We Serve
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- Sight conservation and work with the visually impaired
- Hearing conservation and work with the hearing impaired
- Citizenship, education, health and social services
- Youth programs including drug education and prevention, community outreach and volunteer programs
- Diabetes detection and research
- Work for international cooperation and understanding, including international youth camps, youth exchange programs and Lions International Peace Poster Contest.
- Mission trips
Whenever a Lions club gets together, problems get smaller. And communities get better. That's because we help where help is needed – in our own communities and around the world – with unmatched integrity and energy.
The World's Largest Service Club Organization
Our 46,000 clubs and 1.35 million members make us the world's largest service club organization. We're also one of the most effective. Our members do whatever is needed to help their local communities. Everywhere we work, we make friends. With children who need eyeglasses, with seniors who don’t have enough to eat and with people we may never meet.
More Volunteers Doing More Community Work in More Places than Any Service Club Organization.
When it comes to meeting challenges, our response is simple: We serve. In over 200 countries, in hospitals and senior centers, in regions battered by natural disaster, in schools and eyeglass recycling centers, Lions are doing community volunteer work, helping, leading, planning and supporting. Because we're local, we can serve the unique needs of the communities we live in. And because we're global, we can address challenges that go beyond borders.
We want everyone to see a better tomorrow. That's why we support sight programs and services including vision screenings, eye banks and eyeglass recycling. Provide eye care services to those at risk of losing their sight. And raise donations through campaigns like SightFirst and Campaign SightFirst II.
We believe everyone deserves a healthy life. From providing health programs that focus on hearing loss to supporting efforts to control and prevent diabetes, Lions volunteers are working to improve the health of children and adults around the world.
We empower the next generation. Whether it's providing youth volunteer opportunities and leadership experiences in a Leo club or sharing a message of peace through our Peace Poster contest, our youth programs invest in the future by reaching out to young people.
We serve local communities – and protect the planet. From performing hands-on community work and service projects to providing emergency assistance, our community and environment programs improve our communities – and protect the environment.
There are many ways to get involved. Here are just a few of the many opportunities to do volunteer community work when you join the Lions:
•Community projects
•Group volunteer opportunities
•Become a host family
•Community disaster preparedness
•Diabetes awareness
•Global health programs
Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization. We have 1.35 million members in more than 46,000 clubs worldwide.
Lions are everywhere. We're men and women who are active in community projects in more than 208 countries and geographic areas.
Lions have a dynamic history. Founded in 1917, we are best known for fighting blindness – it's part of our history as well as our work today. But we also perform volunteer work for many different kinds of community projects – including caring for the environment, feeding the hungry and aiding seniors and the disabled.
Local Community Projects
Lions are active. Our motto is "We Serve." Lions are part of a global service network, doing whatever is necessary to help our local communities.
Lions give sight. By conducting vision screenings, equipping hospitals and clinics, distributing medicine and raising awareness of eye disease, Lions work toward their mission of providing vision for all. We have extended our commitment to sight conservation through countless local community projects and through our international SightFirst Program, which works to eradicate blindness.
- In the Fall of 2020, MU Campus Lions Club has partnered with KidSight, KidSight is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides free vision screenings for children. The program was founded in St. Louis, Missouri in 1995 with a handful of volunteers screening a few hundred children a year. Today, KidSight’s program has grown to screen the vision of more than 67,000 kids throughout Missouri each year with the help of trained staff and volunteers operating across the state.
- Because as much as 80 percent of learning in early childhood occurs through the eyes, healthy vision is important for children’s early development. KidSight’s screenings detect vision problems early and the program helps parents get their children treatment before it’s too late to avoid the permanent vision loss that can result from some eye conditions. By ensuring kids have healthy vision, we can prevent what could be a lifetime of vision loss and help children be ready to learn in school.
Lions serve youth. Our community projects often support local children and schools through scholarships, recreation and mentoring. Internationally, we offer many programs, including the Peace Poster Contest, Youth Camps and Exchange and Lions Quest. And our Leo Program provides personal development through youth volunteer opportunities. There are approximately 144,000 Leos and 5,700 Leo clubs in more than 140 countries worldwide.
Lions award grants. Since 1968, the Lions Clubs International Foundation has awarded more than US$700 million in grants to support Lions humanitarian community projects around the world. Together, our Foundation and Lions are helping communities following natural disasters by providing for immediate needs such as food, water, clothing and medical supplies – and aiding in long-term reconstruction.
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Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization with more than 1.4 million members in approximately 46,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas around the world.
