The Leo Club Program gives young people the opportunity to serve their communities and make a positive impact. They offer a great way to have fun, make new friends and develop valuable leadership skills. Leo Club Objective
To provide the youth of the world with an opportunity for development and contribution, individually and collectively, as responsible members of the local, national and international community. Leo Club Motto
Leadership – Develop skills as a project organizer, time manager and team leader. Experience – Learn how teamwork, cooperation and collaboration can bring exciting changes to your community and the world. Opportunity – Make friends and feel the rewards of community service. Leo Club History
Coach Jim Graver started the Leo ball rolling in 1957 and chances are that ball was a baseball. Graver was the baseball coach of the Abington High School in Pennsylvania, USA and an active member of the Glenside Lions Club. With help from his fellow Lion, William Ernst, the first Leo club was charted on December 5, 1957. As the world's first Leo club, the Abington High School Leo Club created the Leo acronym – Leadership, Equality, Opportunity – and chose their school colors, maroon and gold to serve as the Leo club colors. Later, Equality was changed to Experience. In October 1967, the board of directors of Lions Clubs International adopted the Leo Club Program as an official program of the association. The Leo Club Program has continued to grow within the last 50 years. Leos now constitute an international network of over 6,500 clubs in over 140 countries. Community service remains the cornerstone of the program, fostering a lifetime commitment to helping others. Like their Lion counterparts, Leo club members enjoy serving their neighbors and watching positive results unfold. Leo clubs make local communities better places to live. And they matter locally, because people know that they can count on Leos to pitch in. Leo clubs can work on a diverse array of community service projects, whether the focus is on improving eyesight or providing help halfway around the world. Getting Started
When organizing a project, Leo clubs should:
Identify a Community Need: A good place to start may be a food or clothing drive. Or, consider if the community needs a new playground, nature trail or recycling center. Contact other Community Organizers: Verify that other organizations or government agencies are not currently undertaking this project or planning to do so in the near future. Calculate Costs: Assess the current financial and membership resources within the club. If needed, consider creating a joint project with another Leo club or with the sponsoring Lions club. Complete the Details: Establish a timeline. Obtain permission from the school and legal clearance or permission from local authorities, if necessary. Obtain all necessary supplies. Publicize the Project: Inform the media about the project. Submit details about the activity to local newspapers, radio stations and television stations in advance. Once a year, your Leo club should assess the programs and services you provide to your local community. Utilize the Community Needs Assessment to help you determine your next Leo service project. Project Ideas
Find Leo project ideas below, or visit the Serve! section of the Lions website for more resources. Global Service Action Campaigns
Change the world and bring a spark to your club by participating in Lions Clubs International’s four themed service campaigns:
Engaging our Youth (August): Invite other youth in your area to participate in a service project. Projects may include school or community facility cleanups or a visit to a children’s hospital. Allowing youth to develop and lead a service project enables them to learn skills while emphasizing the role of service. Sharing the Vision (October): Plan vision health projects and work with the visually impaired. Many Leos and Lions already celebrate World Sight Day in October. This is a great month to organize a vision screening, volunteer at a nearby Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center, organize an eyeglass collection or an activity to benefit the visually impaired in your community. Relieving the Hunger (December/January): Organize food drives and projects to feed the hungry. With the downturn in the global economy, many hunger relief organizations are finding it difficult to keep up with demand. Help alleviate hunger by planning events around the end and beginning of the calendar year to collect and distribute food. Protecting our Environment (April): Implement projects that improve and protect the environment. Organize a highway clean up, plant trees or plan a community “Earth Day” event to collect recyclables such as aluminum cans, plastic bottles, used cell phones and batteries. Spotlight on Children
Every day, millions of children around the world miss out on the joy of childhood. Instead of playing with toys, they deal with poverty, malnutrition and disabilities. That's why Leo clubs take part in Spotlight on Children, the international service project of Leo club. Spotlight on Children projects give Leos the opportunity to enrich the lives of children by:
Collecting food and clothes for local street children
Repairing playgrounds
Implementing after-school tutoring programs
Visiting children in hospitals
Raising funds for immunization programs
Through service activities like these, Leo clubs bring hope and laughter to needy children around the globe. Spotlight on Children Brochure
Spotlight on Children Banner Patch
Use MyLCI to Report Leo Service Activities
MyLCI is the online membership and service activity reporting system for Leos and Lions. Leo club officers, Leo club advisors and sponsoring Lions club officers can access MyLCI to report Leo members, Leo officers and Leo service activities. In the future, it will also allow Leos and Lions at the district and multiple district level the ability to view information about Leo clubs within their respective areas. Suggestions from Leos and Lions were incorporated into the design of MyLCI, allowing the association to offer a tool that is easier to use and relevant to more members around the world. Key features include a custom home page with snapshots of information tailored to your responsibilities, a task list to keep you organized, and a single site for Leos and Lions, allowing Lions access to Leo reports for the first time. This online reporting system streamlines the administrative operations of Leo clubs, districts and multiple districts so you can focus more of your time on what Lions and Leos do best – serving your communities. Promote Your Activities
Public relations involves all forms of communication, such as maintaining a club website and distributing promotional flyers. Equally important are actions and social activities often taken for granted, such as wearing a lapel pin and marching in a parade. Informing the community that your club built the park or collected the eyeglasses will help foster community support. By actively promoting your club and its worthwhile activities, you'll be projecting a positive image in the community and showing that your club is worth joining. Interested in promoting your activities and programs? Online tools and resources are available to help. Review the online PR Guide to learn more about public relations, access sample materials and develop your communications and PR plan. Other resources include:
Sample news releases you can complete and send with photos of your activities to local media outlets. Downloadable videos, including public service announcements (PSAs) for television and radio. E-LeoClubhouse platform to create and maintain a free club website. Social media sites that help you share and connect with the community.
