Lions and Lions Club International Foundation are helping victims of Hurricane Katrina on a grand scale. Lions are staffing shelters, coordinating eye screenings, distributing glasses and collecting funds, food and supplies.

LCIF has collected more than US$2.2 million for its Hurricane Katrina relief fund and committed US$270,000 from its own funds. LCIF is focusing on: 1.) providing shelters with unmet substantial needs such as food, clothing, personal hygiene items and bedding, 2.) offering health services such as eyeglass distribution, and 3.) meeting needs of Lions camps and facilities housing victims of the disaster.

Lions and LCIF are assisting hurricane victims in numerous ways. One of the more notable initiatives is a partnership with UNICEF to distribute "schools in a box." Lions delivered 23 kits, each of which serves 80 children, to two school districts in Mississippi that suffered heavy damage. The kit allows a teacher to establish a makeshift classroom almost anywhere. The school kit operation is the first time the U.S. government permitted UNICEF to aid in an American disaster. Lions are one of only four distribution organizations.

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