Dear Lion,   As I write to you, Judy and I are traveling to the FOLAC Forum in Mexico. We have had the pleasure to meet so many of you at the other area forums these last few months. I have enjoyed sharing with you the great successes we are achieving together through our Foundation and highlighting our exciting new and expanded initiatives. More importantly, I shared with you stories of how we are changing lives - each and every day, all over the world.   Our partnerships enable us to change more lives and help even more people in need. By working with organizations that share our mission, we are able to leverage our funds and have a larger impact. This month, as we remember the 2 year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, we also celebrate several new projects in collaboration with other organizations.   I am especially proud of LCIF's newest partnership, One Shot, One Life: Lions Measles Initiative. Lions all across the globe are working hard to end deaths from measles. Next month, Lions participating in this important program will help to ensure that nearly 10 million children receive life-saving vaccinations in Nepal. This is just the beginning. I am excited at the response of Lions so far toward the challenge issued by the Gates Foundation to raise US$10 million, to match their US$5 million. In the coming months, I will be encouraging you to show the world what we as Lions can do to support this cause. Just imagine the look of gratitude on the faces of the mothers whose children we will save!   Everywhere Judy and I travel, we hear countless times "thank you." These individuals are not thanking us; they are thanking all of you, the Lions of the world, for making a difference. I am also thankful to you. It is through your continued support to our Foundation that these projects and programs are possible. I thank each of you for continuing to contribute to our Foundation's life-changing work!   Serving together today for a better tomorrow,   Sid L. Scruggs, III Chairperson, Lions Clubs International Foundation
Lions Giving Hearts and Hands in Haiti Two Years Later Yvette is among the many Haitians who now have dreams for the future. She hopes to be the first in her family to attend college. She is among the 1,000 families who have a new place to live and new outlook on life because of Lions. Rebuilding homes and lives in Haiti continues two years after the January 12, 2010 earthquake. This month, Lions will officially inaugurate the National Nursing School of Port-au-Prince, where 350 students will study annually. Lions are also launching a project to build 400 additional homes and a community center to provide vocational training. Eight new classrooms are being constructed at the Notre Dame School, allowing 361 students to return to school. Several projects are also nearly complete, including 600 homes for families once living in Lions' tent cities. Many of the projects are in partnership with other organizations in order to leverage Lions' funds. The projects have recently been highlighted in several news stories. View our fact sheet and visit our Web site for more information.     Partnership with Special Olympics Expands to Help More Families  Aphiwe Qonya of South Africa is one of the 250,000 Special Olympics athletes who can now see better. With new glasses, he could read all of the words and numbers in the book for the first time, rather than guessing. For 12 years, Lions and Special Olympics have been partners in improving health and the quality of life for Special Olympics athletes through Opening Eyes. With the recent expansion of Lions' partnership with Special Olympics in his country, Aphiew can now benefit in other ways. Through Opening Eyes, athletes receive free vision screenings and eyewear. The program relies on thousands of volunteers, particularly Lions. LCIF has provided US$13 million in support of this partnership program. To build on the mission of improving health for athletes is the Family Health Forum. Lions help coordinate the forums where families learn about Lions Clubs, Special Olympics and the Opening Eyes program. They also learn of the challenges that athletes and their families face, while exploring ways to help facilitate better access to health care, education, social services and inclusion. This expansion program began in October with forums in South Africa as well as Namibia, Nigeria and Tanzania.     Sight for Kids Partnership Celebrates 10 Years of Saving Sight Eight-year-old Viraj Madusan of Sri Lanka would have gone blind by age 14 without Sight for Kids. With timely treatment and eyeglasses, he is now seeing well. His story is similar to the 15 million other children helped in 10 Asian countries. This year Johnson & Johnson and LCIF celebrate 10 years of partnership on the Sight for Kids program, which provides vision screenings, eyeglasses, other treatments and eye health education for children. There is a great need for this program: an estimated 1.4 million children in the world are blind and three-quarters of them live in the poorest regions of Asia and Africa, most lacking access to eye care for often easily treatable conditions. A hands-on team effort, the screenings are coordinated by local Lions, Johnson & Johnson staff and local medical personnel. Johnson & Johnson has committed US$2 million to fund Sight for Kids.