LCIF ownership will boost the visibility, accessibility and quality of the program. Lions-Quest is a major player - a highly respected one - in the life skills field. The program is currently active in 33 countries and has reached more than 6 million students.

Lions-Quest programs teach youths to accept responsibility, communicate effectively, set goals, make healthy decisions and resist pressure to use alcohol and drugs. Lions clubs, districts and multiple districts support Lions-Quest through funding, coordination of teacher training and in other ways.

"This brings together the premier service organization in the world with one of the very best life skills programs," says LCIF Chairman J. Frank Moore III. "This will take the Lions-Quest program to the next level."

The change in ownership will not change the program. The transition is expected to be seamless. Lions-Quest will continue to offer three distinct programs, one for students ages 5-9, a second for students 10-14 and a third for students 14-18. Key educators and managers associated with Lions-Quest will continue to guide the program. The only change anticipated is a positive one: LCIF is seeking new resources to expand and implement Lions-Quest.

Lions-Quest often had been cited for its quality. In June, after a rigorous evaluation, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, a federal agency, rated Lions-Quest's Skills for Adolescence component (for ages 10-14) as one of the country's most effective programs of its kind. Only 28 of the more than 200 programs that applied for that designation received it. A study by the Centers for Disease Control in 1996 praised Lions-Quest programs for improving grades, boosting reading test scores, decreasing tardiness and enhancing peer-to-peer interaction.

Classrooms teachers undergo workshop training before presenting the Lions-Quest curricula.

LCIF first became involved in Lions-Quest in 1998 when it awarded US$200,000 each to 17 Lions' districts to expand or establish Lions-Quest programs. In 1999, LCIF's new Core 4 program took on Lions-Quest as a priority, and the foundation has awarded 31 grants to districts and multiple districts totaling US$5.9 million to introduce or expand the program worldwide.

LCIF has hired a manager at the Oak Brook headquarters to oversee the program. It is currently revising the criteria for grants to begin or widen Lions-Quest programs under LCIF's Core 4 program. Clubs and districts are encouraged to explore how to participate in Lions-Quest. Districts interested in requesting a Lions-Quest grant should contact the LCIF grants department at 630-571-5466, ext. 580 or 292.

Bringing the program directly into LCIF enhances its Lions identity and increases its appeal, says Mike Buscemi, a 25-year veteran with Lions-Quest in Ohio. "Lions will no longer have any confusion or reservations about the program now that it's totally part of the Lions Clubs. We can do more outreach directly to Lions," he says.

Buscemi notes that Russia, Greece, Bulgaria, Indonesia and Mexico are among the countries interested in introducing Lions-Quest. In 2002, thanks to a US$100,000 grant from the U.S. State Department, which is keen on reducing drug abuse in Eastern Europe, schools in the Czech Republic welcomed Lions-Quest. Eastern Europe also may be ripe for expansion of the program.

Lions Clubs International Foundation
300 W. 22nd Street
Oak Brook, Illinois, 60523-8842, U.S.A.
1-630-571-5466
Fax: 1-630-571-8890
E-mail: lcif@lionsclubs.org