These organizations were relatively new and uncommon until the mid 1980s. During this time, women were finally admitted as Lions and not Lionesses; Lions Clubs International was the first service organization to practice this policy (Walker interview). .
In order to better meet the needs of people around the world, Lions International formed the Lions Clubs International Foundation, the "grant-making arm of Lions International- ("Lions Clubs International Foundation-). With gifts to this organization, Lions can better serve people in the community and world by funding programs, such as Sight First, Lions-Quest and other youth and foreign exchange programs. .
In 1997, Lions Clubs International Foundation granted about $15.3 million to train about 4,000 ophthalmologists in various cataract surgical techniques, and to establish eye clinics in 100 Chinese hospitals. Since then, about 1.75 million cataract surgeries have been performed in China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. The Sight First program also eliminated about ninety percent of river blindness, a disease that occurs when foreign objects remain embedded in the eye, in Africa (Walker interview; "Lions Club Helps Restore Sight for 1.1 Million Chinese-). .
Lions-Quest is a character education program that also promotes drug and alcohol use prevention in young people. The curriculum is used for students between ages five and eighteen, and the lessons are divided by age and grade appropriateness ("LCIF Embarks on a New Quest-). .
Lions Clubs International collaborates with other service organizations for international-scale projects. During the past fifteen years, former International President Jim Ervin has established relationships with many other world-renowned organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, the Jimmy Carter Center, Rotary Clubs, Mons International, the National Federation of the Blind and various state Shriners Clubs (Walker interview.