Founded as the Downtown Grand Rapids Lions Club in 1919, our club has established an unprecedented track record of service to our community extending over nine decades.

When John S. Noel, our first President for the 1919-1920 year, banged the gavel opening our first meeting, Lions began to gather at weekly meetings to plan how we can better serve West Michigan and the world. While many Lion programs have centered around support for the visually impaired, we have worked hard to help many individuals or groups less fortunate than ourselves. Many of our current and past projects are highlighted in the "Lions Programs" section of this web site.

Our membership has included countless men and women from many walks of life including business owners, lawyers and judges, business leaders and business workers, civic leaders, doctors, the world of finance, the helping professions and many, many others including a congressman from Grand Rapids who became President of the United States. These fine people distinguished themselves not only in their professions but together in service to our fellow man.