The Lions Blog

A Strides: Lions for Diabetes Awareness event promotes healthy exercise and brings an entire community together in the fight against diabetes. Physical activity and a healthy lifestyle are important for those with diabetes or at risk of diabetes.

Expanding Strides Activities

The Strides program has recently rebranded and expanded to include more options for healthy, fun physical activity. A Strides event can include running, walking, bicycling, dancing, dog walking, hula-hooping or any other activity that gets people moving.

Fifteen clubs from District 4-L6 in California sponsored a Strides Walk together, organized by the district’s Diabetes Awareness and Action Committee. One of the clubs with major involvement was the San Diego Premier Lions Club. Watch the Lions Quarterly video to learn more about how the San Diego Premier Lions included dancing in their Strides event.

How to Organize a Strides Event

To organize a Strides event, order a Strides Information Packet, which includes a club guide, community poster, sample press release and other resources. You can also order educational materials to distribute at your event to help community members better understand the risk of diabetes.

For additional resources, including fact sheets, tips and certificate of participation, visit the Strides page on the LCI website.

How does your Lions club promote diabetes awareness in your community?

The Irving Noon Day Lions Club in Texas, USA, recently partnered with the Townsell Elementary School to form a strong relationship that improves the education of local students. Lions help the school assess the needs of students and provide assistance wherever needed; for example, they donated school supplies, backpacks and jackets to students in need.

Watch the video above to learn more about this partnership, and how Lions are giving back to the community by focusing on children’s education.

How does your Lions club work with local schools?

Partnering with leading reading organizations helps expand Lions’ reach and ensures our literacy promotion efforts through the Reading Action Program truly make a global impact.

Through our partnership with Bookshare, Lions can provide easier access to print materials for people with vision problems. Bookshare is the world’s largest online accessible library of copyrighted content for people with print disabilities, including blindness, low vision, and physical and learning disabilities that affect reading.

The Bookshare collection provides materials that can often be very difficult to obtain, especially in developing countries. They include:

• Educational materials
• Textbooks
• Career-related books
• Children’s books
• Newspapers
• Magazines

Bookshare members can listen to books and read books in digital Braille using computers, MP3 players, tablets, phones and assistive technology devices.

To get involved, consider sponsoring Bookshare subscriptions for eligible people in underserved communities. Be sure to check out the Bookshare blog for more information on this wonderful partnership!

How is your Lions club incorporating services for the blind through Reading Action Program projects?

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are a great way to get the Lions message out to your community. The above video is a fun Lions PSA that conveys just a few of the ways Lions serve all over world.

Have you considered using a PSA to raise awareness about your local club? You can download this PSA, along with others, directly from the Lions News Network. Provide these PSAs to the public service director of community affairs at your local media outlets. Or, feature a PSA video at your next public event.

Do you use videos to promote your club?

This year’s Lions Clubs International Convention will be held in Hamburg, Germany, from July 5 through 9, 2013. Join Lions everywhere to connect with others and celebrate 96 years of outstanding service.

At the convention, Lions have the opportunity to:

• Watch Lions from 120 countries and geographical areas march side-by-side at the Parade of Nations.
• Attend three action-packed plenary sessions.
• Attend engaging seminars to help improve your club’s volunteer work, utilize social media, promote your club and more.
• Meet friends, new and old.
• Explore the culture, history and cuisine of Hamburg.
• Connect with and learn from other Lions from around the world.

Are you going to the convention in Hamburg this year? Register today!