Made with Xara Web Designer Lions Club of Rutherford (NJ) The oldest continually chartered Lions Club in District 16A Lions International The Lions club began in 1917 when a young Chicago insurance agent, Melvin Jones, convinced a group of independent clubs to join together to work for a common cause. The cause was to serve their fellow men as a group without regard to politics, religion, race or their personal interests. This idea was a radical departure from the current trend of forming clubs primarily for commercial motives. Twenty-five independent clubs responded to Melvin Jones' call. At the Lions Club International Convention in 1925, Helen Keller challenged all Lions to be "Knights of the Blind." Since then, our primary mission has been to support sight related programs, help those with vision problems and work to prevent sight diseases. Lions Clubs International has grown to include 1.3 million men and women in 45,000 clubs located in 205 countries and geographic areas Lions stands for Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nation's Safety and the motto of The Lions Club is WE SERVE   Lions Clubs Objects To Create and foster a spirit of understanding among the peoples of the world. To Promote the principles of good government and good citizenship. To Take an active interest in the civic, cultural, social and moral welfare of the community. To Unite the clubs in the bonds of friendship, good fellowship and mutual understanding. To Provide a forum for the open discussion of all matters of public interest; provided, however, that partisan politics and sectarian religion shall not be debated by club members. To Encourage service-minded people to serve their community without personal financial reward, and to encourage efficiency and promote high ethical standards in commerce, industry, professions, public works and private endeavors. Serving Rutherford for 88 Years - We Serve Lions Clubs International New Jersey Lions