Who are the University-Ballard Lions Club?
The University-Ballard Lions Club is one of the largest and oldest service clubs in the region. The Club has been serving the people of Seattle since 1924 with particular emphasis on providing help for financially needy individuals with sight or hearing impairments. Members include business and professional men and women, retirees, clergy and educators. The motto of Lions Clubs International is “We Serve.” The University Ballard Lions Club strives to live up to that motto every day.
As part of Lions International we support them in their various projects on a global scale including preserving sight, combating disability, promoting health, serving youth and responding to natural disasters.
Lions Clubs International was started in 1917 by Chicago businessman, Melvin Jones. Jones brought a group of friends together to provide service to the community. Jones’ philosophy was that a group of business and professional leaders could do more for the community by working collectively than by working as individuals.
The history of Lionism supports the wisdom of his philosophy. In 1927 Helen Keller spoke at a Lions Clubs International Convention and asked the Lions to become “Knights of the Blind” Since that date the primary focus of Lions has been on serving the needs of sight and/or hearing impaired individuals within the communities we serve.
In 1969 Lions clubs in Washington State organized an Eye Bank at the University of Washington to provide corneal tissue for cornea transplants. This is now one of the largest eye banks in the world. Since its’ inception, the Northwest Lions Eye Bank (now known as SightLife) has provided thousands of corneas for transplants – enabling individuals who were previously blind to be able to see.
Click here to learn more about Lions Club International.
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.
