Since 1917, Lions clubs have offered people the opportunity to give something back to their communities. From involving members in projects as local as cleaning up an area park or as far-reaching as bringing sight to the world's blind, Lions clubs have always embraced those committed to building a brighter future for their community.

The fundamental unit in the Lions organization is the club. This usually covers a community, such as Foster City, or in sparsely settled areas, it may cover several adjacent communities. Because membership is local, clubs know best what communities need and thus are able to effectively fulfill their mission. Our motto, "We Serve," lies at the heart of Lionism, but the content of local missions is left up to individual clubs and associations of clubs to develop.

Because needs are greater than just at the local level, clubs are further organized into zones, regions, and districts. Our Foster City Club is in District 4-C4, which ranges from Palo Alto to San Francisco. It includes more than 40 clubs with over 1400 Lions. There are many activities which span the entire district. One example is the annual Youth and Community Activity (Y&CA) raffle which benefits many local organizations throughout the region.

Within our district, there are two coordinating Council of Lions, one for San Francisco, and the other for the Peninsula. These handle activities which are greater than club, but do not span the entire district. One example is the annual Police and Fire Award banquet which covers the entire peninsula.

Beyond the district, are Multiple Districts. For us, this is MD-4, which covers California and Nevada. An example of an MD-4 level activity is the Lions Eye Foundation of California-Nevada, Inc., which handles needy patients from these states who require eye surgery.