Facts

  • Founded : 1917
  • Motto : "We Serve"
  • Members : 1.3 Million
  • Clubs : 45,000 clubs in 202 countries and geographic areas
  • Convention : July 6-10
    Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
  • International Headquarters :
    Oak Brook, Illinois, USA

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Car Show

As the car show approaches, you will be able to use the donate function to register. Stay tuned for updates!!!

About Us

Welcome to the Morris Lions Club website. The Morris Lions Club is a volunteer organization dedicated to leadership development through community service. The Morris Lions are local men and women who work together to answer the needs that challenge our community. They are most notably known for working to end preventable blindness and hearing loss. Morris Lions participate in a vast variety of projects and concerns that are important to their community. These endeavors range from cleaning up local parks to providing much needed vision and hearing services to area residents that are unable to afford them. The members of the Morris Lions Club are community-minded individuals who raise monies through fundraisers to help those in need in their community, regional and world-wide.

Throughout the world Lions Clubs have offered people the opportunity to give something back to their communities. Lions Clubs have always embraced those committed to building a brighter future for their community. Today with more than 46,000 clubs worldwide, Lions have expanded their focus to help meet the ever-increasing needs of our global community. Our programs are continually changing to meet new needs and greater demands, but our mission has never wavered…We Serve.” Why should I become a Lion? As a Lions Club member, you can:

  • Make a difference everyday in your community
  • Provide support locally or reach out internationally
  • Grow personally and professionally by participating in our programs, community service projects and events
  • Have an impact on local and international humanitarian issues
  • Develop relationships with both local and international community and business leaders
  • Have access to membership discounts and services.

Interested in becoming a member? Membership in a Lions Club is by invitation from a local club. If you are interested in membership contact your local Lions Club. Tell them you are considering membership and want to attend a meeting to learn more. Then, ask a member for a membership application. You can also visit Lions International for information on how to become a member!

The Morris Lions Club meets the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month (6:30 p.m.) at the Eagle’s Hall, Washington Street, Morris, Illinois. If you have an interest in becoming a Morris Lion and serving your community, please E-mail us today by using the contact page of our website for information about membership in our club.

International

The International Association of Lions Clubs began as the dream of Chicago businessman Melvin Jones. He believed that local business clubs should expand their horizons from purely professional concerns to the betterment of their communities and the world at large.

Jones’ group, the Business Circle of Chicago, agreed. After contacting similar groups around the United States, an organizational meeting was held on June 7, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The new group took the name of one of the invited groups, the “Association of Lions Clubs,” and a national convention was held in Dallas, Texas, USA in October of that year. A constitution, by-laws, objects and code of ethics were approved.

Among the objects adopted in those early years was one that read, “No club shall hold out the financial betterment of its members as its object.” This call for unselfish service to others remains one of the association’s main tenets.

Just three years after its formation, the association became international when the first club in Canada was established in 1920. Major international expansion continued as clubs were established, particularly throughout Europe, Asia and Africa during the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1925, Helen Keller addressed the Lions international convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, USA. She challenged Lions to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” From this time, Lions clubs have been actively involved in service to the blind and visually impaired.

Broadening its international role, Lions Clubs International helped the United Nations form the Non-Governmental Organizations sections in 1945 and continues to hold consultative status with the U.N.

In 1990, Lions launched its most aggressive sight preservation effort, SightFirst. The US$202 million program strives to rid the world of preventable and reversible blindness by supporting desperately needed health care services. Lions have launched Campaign SightFirst II to raise at least US$150 million to continue and expand the extraordinary work of SightFirst.

In addition to sight programs, Lions Clubs International is committed to providing services for youth. Lions clubs also work to improve the environment, build homes for the disabled, support diabetes education, conduct hearing programs and, through their foundation, provide disaster relief around the world. Lions have launched Campaign SightFirst II to raise at least US$150 million to continue and expand the extraordinary work of SightFirst.

Lions Clubs International has grown to include 1.3 million men and women in approximately 45,000 clubs located in 202 countries and geographic areas.