Community Activities of the Billings Lions Club are as varied as the interests of our members.

Diabetes and sight and hearing awareness and research has long been a focus for Lions clubs. Helen Keller charged the fledgeling organization with helping those without the gift of sight and Lions rose to the challenge. Recycling eyeglasses, examinations and distribution of glasses in needy parts of the world, Leader Dogs for the Blind, research of diseases that cause impaired vision and blindness, sensory gardens and other adaptive efforts, and special camps and training for the vision impaired and their families are just a few of the efforts by Lions here and around the world. Diabetes awareness is another major focus since it is the major cause of blindness and impaired vision.

Link to Lions International Sight & Hearing information

Link to Lions International Information on Diabetes

The Billings Lions participate in most of these efforts - especially the collection and recycling of thousands of pairs of glasses each year. Assisting youth with eye examinations an providing low cost glasses is another area of interest to the Billings Lions. Family Services in Billings serves as the primary point of contact for this service.

OTHER PROJECTS:

The Charles Campbell Children's Camp provides handicapped youth (and other youth that assist them) with an opportunity for growth though a camping experience.

The Beartooth Mountain Youth Camp is a facility south of Red Lodge, Montana, provided by the Billings Lions to other community groups to use use for youth camps.

The Billings Lions Foundation is a financial vehicle for ensuring the charitable work of the Club will continue.

Simiarly, the Lions International Foundation supports a host of programs including grants for disaster relief, the fight to eliminate River Blindness (the leading cause of blindness in developing countries). The current focus of the Lions International Foundation is Sight First II. This ambitious program seeks to conquer many causes of vision problems and blindness throughout the world. Billings Lions have pledged their support for this program.

In addition, the Billings Lions Club actively participates in a number of related activities such as: Special Olympics, Leader Dogs (for the blind), Lions Park (a city park), flags for school kids on Presidents Day, International Youth Exchange, Zoo Montana's Sensory Garden, and assistance for families in need.

To do all these things we solicit money through a variety of community fundraisers. Remember what Lions do the next time you see our gold vests and the Lions emblem. The Billings Lions Foundation (click text for more) serves as a tax-exempt supporter of allactivities of the Billings Lions Club.

Or you are invited to join us for a Thursday noon meeting in the basement of the Elks Club to learn more about what we do.