The Lions Club is an international service organization with 1.4 million members in more than 200 countries. It has no political or religious affiliations. The Austin Founders Lions Club was founded in 1916 and is the oldest continuously operating Lions Club in the world. Membership provides unique opportunities to learn about our city and participate in volunteer activities such as conducting vision screening in Austin ISD elementary schools. Our weekly speakers this year include Mayor Kirk Watson, NPR correspondent John Burnett, Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez, Texas Monthly founder Mike Levy, Central Health Director Patrick Lee, and Travis County Judge Andy Brown. Topics at our weekly meetings cover a wide range including culture, environmentalism, and the activities of several local nonprofit organizations.Visitors are welcome!!!We meet every Thursday from 11:45-1:00 in Building 626 of the Austin State Hospital near E. 41st and Guadalupe. Occasionally we meet at other locations such as our namesake Lions Municipal Golf Course, so please check the calendar. For further information, emailinfo@austindowntownlions.orgVision Screening 2024-2025 School YearThe Austin Founders Lion Club screened the vision of 2,339 Pre-K students in 46 Austin elementary schools during the 2024-2025 school year. 571 (24.4%) failed their exams. All were given vouchers which provide free exams and glasses. The funds for these vouchers were raised by the club. Mobile App for Austin Founder Lions Club Members
Austin Founder Lions Club now provides a mobile app to help members more easily stay in touch with club activities and their fellow club members. The app is available for both Apple and Android devices. It is provided by Wild Apricot. Using this app, you can:
Eyeglasses RecyclingWant to help us give sight to the world? Find local eyeglass recycling drop-off locations HERE According to The World Health Organization, 153 million people have uncorrected refractive errors (near-sightedness, far-sightedness or astigmatism). Most of these vision impairments are quickly diagnosed and easy to treat with corrective lenses. A History of Quality and Service
Past and present members include many of the most prominent names in both Austin and Texas' history - U.S. Congressman J.J. "Jake" Pickle, Austin mayor Gus Garcia, both Willie Kocurek and his son Neal Kocurek, and more - all dedicated to the service of humanity through the spirit of Lionism and its many community outreach programs. We admit we are a bit proud of our status as the "world's oldest continuously operating Lions Club", but, we like to think that our efforts in community service are typical of Lions Clubs the world over. It's a story of garage sales, golf tournaments, rose sales and other kinds of fund raisers. It's a story of answering the needs of the community and of disadvantaged groups and individuals, through efforts such as our Eyeglasses Recycling program, support of the Texas Lions Camp and the Lone Star Eye Bank, eyeglasses for students and other projects. And it's a story of building and working with other Lions Clubs to promote teamwork in service. We are perhaps most proud, however, to be a part of Lions Clubs International, which provides the opportunity to support nonpartisan service activities that are worldwide in scope. Through Lions International we can help fight blindness and other social problems around the world while promoting international understanding, and that's what makes our association so special. The club participates in projects with other clubs in surrounding counties known as Lions District 2-S3. MISSION STATEMENT TO EMPOWER volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions Clubs. | Upcoming Speakers & Events
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These are some of the organizations we are proud to support through the donations raised by our community efforts: ![]() ![]() World Services for the Blind Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired |