New Mountains to Climb / Back to the Future
District Meeting - Sunday, January 22, 2017
American Legion, Cross Plains
LCIF Report

Thank you for your club donations, if you have not donated to LCIF please consider doing so.

I have the $20 bronze level LCIF Contributing Member pins for 2016-2017 available. This is a tax-deductible donation. After July 1, 2016, contributing member pins do count towards a Melvin Jones Follow! However, an individual contributing member donation does not count as a club donation in determining club participation percentages.

Lions support is needed to meet and sustain LCIF grants and program expenses through 2018 and beyond. Grants are being used for disaster relief and LCIF constantly needs to refresh these funds. On December 7, 2016, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Aceh province of Indonesia. LCIF responded immediately. District 307 - A2 had received a $10,000 Emergency Grant to help with immediate relief activities and Multiple District 307 has also received a $100,000 Major Catastrophe grant for both immediate-and long-term relief and reconstruction. Please donate to LCIF's disaster relief fund so that Lions can continue offering this critical aid.

Club LCIF Coordinators: Clubs are being asked to name/select a Club LCIF Coordinator. The purpose of this individual is to simply educate the club and give at least one presentation to the club per year and serve as an LCIF ambassador on the club local level. The Club LCIF Coordinator has been added as a required Club Board member.

The Measles Initiative is still ongoing. $20 million of the $30 million goal has been achieved. We have only 11 ½ months to achieve the final $10 million to get the full GAVI & Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation full match of $30 million. Measles is caused by a virus and is highly contagious. Nine out of ten unvaccinated people exposed to measles will become infected. Measles killed thirteen people every hour in 2014. Small children and some adults are at risk for severe complications including blindness and death. Lions are working to STOP MEASLES by supporting vaccination campaigns and routine immunization. Alongside our partners, we aim to provide vaccinations to more than 87.8 million children. With LCIF's support, Lions have worked in twenty-one countries where measles poses a large threat to health. Measles vaccines prevented 17.1 million deaths between 2000-2014. For about $1, a safe and effective measles vaccination can help prevent this disease. Lions Club International Foundation will raise $30 million by the end of 2017 for measles.