President’s MessageSow the Seeds of PeaceDear Lions,I have never had much of a green thumb, but I know the importance of gardening. I know we will reap what we sow. And if we don’t plant the seeds of kindness and love, we will not see the glow of peace.Every year we ask students to show us what peace means to them through our Peace Poster and Essay contests, and the results never fail to astound me. They paint beautiful, vividly colored portraits of love and harmony; sharing and understanding. I am encouraged by their vision of the potential of our world. And while all their versions of peace are different, there is one common thread: They all depict a universal connectedness.Peace is something that can only happen when we all recognize our universal connection. I am you and you are me. I believe the world is capable of so much love and compassion. I believe the world can know peace. And it starts with helping one another. It starts with service. It starts with Lions.Lions, for all the love you bring to your communities and to the world. Thank you for being the seed of peace. It is my greatest hope that each kindness we sow will reap another in return, and then another until we can all see as clear as day exactly how connected we all are.And eventually, peace—not just as a concept, but as a reality—will grow everywhere in our world.Yours in service, Douglas X. AlexanderInternational President, Lions Clubs International Tending To Our Common HomeDear Lions, I have always believed that you take care of the things you care about. That’s why I keep my home tidy and my plants watered. When something is damaged, I fix it. I know that if I don’t do these things, my house won’t be the place I want to call home. The rooms would be a mess if I didn’t keep them clean, the house would fall into disrepair if I didn’t take care of it, and my plants would die if I didn’t bring them water. My house is in Brooklyn. Yours may be in Kentucky,…more...Tell the World Your StoryDear Lions, Once upon a time…remember those magic words? They have the power to instantly transport you to another place and time. That’s what stories do. They stop time and enable you to imagine other worlds. When I was young, I loved to read stories about baseball players and listen to my grandmother tell stories about our family. Today, I love the stories I hear about you. Lion stories are the greatest stories on Earth. They are stories about kindness and effort and grace. They are stories about bringing people together and giving of ourselves because we know in our…more...Change Hearts, Change Minds, Change ActionsDear Lions, It’s no secret that the world is in need. One of the reasons I became a Lion was because I saw the way Lions were working in their communities to make changes. They were working to make things better for people. And that spoke to me. I wanted to be a part of that. Today, I couldn’t be more proud to be a Lion, working with all of you, every day, to meet the needs of others. However, sometimes the problems seem so big it’s hard to know where to start. How do we make the big changes…more...May the New Year Bring Renewed Dedication to ServiceDear Lions, I love the month of January because it brings such a sense of hope. A new year, a new start. While we are in the midst of a busy season of service as Lions, I like to pause and reflect on the calendar year—the one that is coming to a close and the one that is just beginning. It’s wonderful to look back at all I did over the past year and yet, just as important to note the things I want to improve upon in the new year. Where might I have done better? Then, I rededicate…more...Serving with LoveDear Lions, As a Lion, one of my favorite projects during this time of year is serving food to those who don’t have enough to eat. And one of the things I think about a lot when I do this is how important it is to serve from the heart. Now, I can go to a soup kitchen, and I can just stand behind a table with all of this beautiful food, or I can stand there with a smile. I can do it simply because I volunteered to do it, or I can do it with love and kindness.…more...We are FamilyDear Lions, As anyone who is close to me knows, there is nothing more important to me than family. Family first. That’s my motto. When someone tells me they can’t make an event because they have a family obligation, I tell them, “Yes, of course! Go be with your family.” Quality time with our loved ones gives us the strength we need to go out and give of ourselves. We cannot fill another’s bucket if our own is empty. However, Lions are a kind of family as well – a really big family with all kinds of aunties and uncles…more...The Beauty of Life Can Be Felt In the HeartDear Lions, It’s been a while since I’ve walked the halls of the Boys’ High School in Brooklyn, New York, where I went to school, and a lot has changed since I graduated. In the seventies it became the Boys’ and Girls’ High School and relocated to a bigger campus on Fulton and Utica. But the original building at 832 Marcy Ave, the one I remember so well, is known for its Romanesque Revival architecture, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is considered one of Brooklyn’s finest buildings. It was a memorable place to spend my…more...Give the Gift of BelongingDear Lions, We often talk about the power of working together. We know we are stronger as a club than as individuals. When I became a Lion, I knew I was joining something bigger than myself. I felt honored and excited. I felt like it was the natural extension of my life’s work. It gave me purpose and direction for all the good I knew I wanted to do. And do you know what else it gave me? A new kind of family. I come from a big family and a close-knit community, so I was no stranger to the…more...The Secret of ServiceDear Lions, For my first message to you in LION Magazine, I want to talk about the small things. When Lions Clubs International was started more than 100 years ago, it was founded on the idea that those who can help, should. It was that simple. I grew up with those same values. I was raised in Brooklyn, where most families worked hard and came home tired at the end of the day. But they saw the value in supporting one another. They knew they were stronger together. And they knew that as tired as they were, or as steep…more...Showing UpGreetings Lions, The two years that I have had the great honor of serving as your international president have been some of the most memorable and meaningful of my life. It’s inevitable that one goes into this role with a set of expectations about how it will be, but I can surely say that my tenure in this role was nothing like I expected and far exceeded all my expectations. While I never anticipated I would serve two full terms as your international president, the past sixteen months have been different than we all imagined. This year has changed me.…more...