Lion Leaders Meet with Members of Congress in Washington
U.S. Board Members from Lions Clubs International met with members of Congress as part of Lions Clubs International Capitol Hill Day. The event was designed to raise awareness of Lions Clubs International and the contributions Lions are making in communities throughout the United States.
“There are 350,000 Lions in the U.S. who are providing valuable community services,” said First International Vice President Joe Preston. “We wanted to showcase the work of our Lions, and remind our representatives just how vital Lions are to their communities and states.”
Visiting board members also invited members of Congress to join them for an evening reception to celebrate the partnership with Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) and the GAVI Alliance. This global partnership is designed to protect tens of millions of children in the world’s poorest countries against measles, a highly infectious disease that kills an estimated 335 people every day, mostly children.
“I’m proud of what Lions have accomplished in the fight against measles, and we’re looking forward to accomplishing more with the GAVI Alliance. Together, we are saving lives and making the future safer, healthier and brighter for children,” said LCIF Chairperson Wayne Madden.
Lions have committed to raising US$30 million to improve access to vaccines through the GAVI Alliance. The funds will be matched by the UK government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, bringing the total to US$60 million. Over 100 million children in the world’s poorest countries will be vaccinated through the partnership.
Lions also play a key social-mobilization role in many impacted communities. Lions work with local leaders, coordinate community-level publicity and serve as volunteers at vaccination centers during immunization campaigns. Local Lions have been active during GAVI-supported measles and measles-rubella immunization campaigns in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Bangladesh. Lions will be active in measles-rubella campaigns in Tanzania and Burkina Faso later this year.
