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Dear Lions,
This year I've had the great opportunity to witness many of our
successful partnerships in action. During my visit to New Zealand
following the devastating earthquake, I saw how Lions quickly joined with
others to implement a plan for relief.
And when I visited Ethiopia and Madagascar I witnessed how we are
working with the Gates Foundation and other Measles Initiative partners
to provide needed vaccinations to 41 million children. The
moment when a mother said to me, "Thank you for saving my
child," was one of those touching moments in life. It is when
you say to yourself, "This is why I am a
Lion." Please come and witness the results of this
partnership during the Second Plenary Session at the Lions Clubs
International Convention, including a presentation by Mr. Bill Gates Sr.
 Providing youth with a bright,
healthy future is a priority of Lions and our Foundation. We place
great emphasis on building strong, successful partnerships for all of our
programs. But we recognize we can't do it alone. Working with select
partners that share our ideals we can improve lives and give hope for a
brighter future to even more people around the world.
Our Lions Quest program is also benefiting from partnership
support. NoVo Foundation has awarded US$100,000 to help expand Lions
Quest across one entire United States school district by 2013. Expansion
of our successful worldwide program will ensure even more students learn
valuable life skills.
 For the last year we have been
partnering with Bausch + Lomb on the Pediatric Cataract Initative to
combat childhood blindness. But I'm happy to say that for the first time
this partnership has led to additional support for other programs. Bausch
+ Lomb has given US$100,000 to support relief efforts in Japan, and
they're encouraging their employees to do the same by matching donations.
Isn't this wonderful?
These are only a few examples of valuable partnerships and
collaborative programs. We will continue to seek out valuable partners.
But we also, and especially, need your support. It is Lions' generosity,
active participation and personal involvement in projects that enables us
to attract these valuable partners. I strongly count on you to continue
to support our Foundation, - and you can count on me and my service team
to support you wherever you need us.
With my cordial regards,
Eberhard J. Wirfs
Chairperson, Lions Clubs International Foundation
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