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ALL ABOUT LEO CLUBS

LEADERSHIP-EXPERIENCE-OPPORTUNITY

Those are just a few of the rewards young people gain from participating in Leos. They also happen to be the values that create the acronym of our club name.
 
LEO CLUB HISTORY

Coach Lion 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 they chose their school colors, maroon and gold to serve as the LEO club colours.  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 as been growing strong for over 50 years.  Community service remains the cornerstone of the program.  Like their Lion counterparts, Leo club members enjoy serving their neighbors and watching positive results unfold.

There are more than 157,000 young people in 145 countries proud to serve their communities and call themselves LEO's. These young community leaders are friendly, active and dedicated to creating new and exciting opportunities by participating in their LEO clubs

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."

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 CLUBS ORGANIZATION IN BRIEF

Each LEO Club emerges from a sponsoring Lions Club, and both LEOs and Lions are partners in service.

A "District" (D) is formed if 6 or more LEO Clubs are present. When there are more then 2 Districts a "Multi District" (MD) is established, and depending on the number of active clubs, a single country can include many districts to become a Multi District (MD), or many surrounding countries can form a single "District" (D).

TYPES OF LEO CLUBS

There are two types of LEO Clubs; Alpha and Omega Clubs. Alpha Clubs are for youth ages 12 - 18, while Omega Clubs are for youth ages 18 - 30.

Each club has a president, vice-president, secretary and a treasurer, forming the LEO Club committee.

A couple of years ago, LEOs in Europe founded an unofficial post, called the International Liaison Officer (ILO). ILO is the representative of his/her country, which means that the ILO needs to inform Leo's in his/her country about international Leo and Lions businesses and the other way around, the ILO should inform the ILO board of the Leo business in his/her country -> mainly being a communication officer. The ILO also works closely together with the other ILO's on topics like:

Promoting Leo's at Lions national and international (LCI)
Facilitating in request from other ILO's / LEO's
Providing answers to questions from Lions/LEO's in upcoming LEO countries
 
MAIN ACTIVITIES OF A LEO CLUB
 
LEO Clubs share to a great extent, similar activities, which can be categorized into the following:

Fundraising: LEO Clubs plan, organize and execute fundraising activities in order to raise money for a perceived project/s.
Community Care: LEO Clubs dedicate a significant time and effort to serving a segment of the underprivileged in their community.
Main Club Project: Each LEO Club annually plans, organizes and executes a main project directed at a specific cause and/or developmental need.
International Liaisons: LEO Club members connect with LEOs around the world, throughout global conferences, forums, workshops and events, during which, LEOs share their experiences and establish acquaintances and friendships in different countries of the world.
 
In total, more than 7000 LEO Clubs in 145 countries with a membership of 157,000 LEO's are proud to serve others in their local communities and to call themselves Leos. These young community leaders are friendly, active and dedicated to creating new and exciting opportunities by participating in their local Leo clubs.