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For its dedication to humanitarian service and championing health and human rights to end AIDS, the Stephen Lewis Foundation will be presented with the 2024 Lions Humanitarian Award during the 106th Lions Clubs International Convention this June. Stephen Lewis Foundation co-founder Ilana Landsberg-Lewis will accept the award.

The Stephen Lewis Foundation partners with community-led organizations that empower women and girls, grandmothers, orphaned and vulnerable children, LGBTIQ communities and people living with HIV. It delivers funds directly to these organizations who are at the forefront of responses to the HIV epidemic in 14 countries across sub-Saharan Africa.

"Working with, and learning from, African women leaders of grassroots organizations at the frontlines of the AIDS pandemic is what lies at the heart of the core values of the Stephen Lewis Foundation,” said Stephen Lewis Foundation co-founder Ilana Landsberg-Lewis. “Our aspiration is to amplify their voices and expertise. We aim to ensure that they have support that responds to their own priorities and agendas, and that their advocacy, power, deep knowledge, resilience and persistence are recognized as an essential and transformative force.”

The Lions Humanitarian Award is the association's highest honor, given to an individual or an organization with exemplary humanitarian efforts. This award comes with a Lions Clubs International Foundation grant for up to US$250,000 to a charitable organization for continuing humanitarian activities. The Stephen Lewis Foundation joins a distinguished list of prior recipients, including Mother Teresa, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Chef and humanitarian José Andrés.

"We are truly honored to present this award to the Stephen Lewis Foundation, whose leaders, donors and volunteers strive to create a future free from stigma and poverty arising from the impact of HIV and AIDS on families in sub-Saharan Africa and to instill hope in generations to come," said Lions International President Dr. Patti Hill. "The foundation’s work, including the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, creates oases of love and strength, weaving a tapestry of care that stretches across communities around the world. They truly are changing the world one life at a time.”

Since 2006, Canadian, American, Australian, and British grandmothers and grandothers have joined African grandmothers in solidarity through the Campaign. Thousands of members raise significant funds — $40 million — and awareness in support of grandmothers caring for children who have lost their parents to AIDS, and to claim their human rights. They rally behind the call, “We will not rest until they can rest!”

Learn more about the Lions Humanitarian Award and see our list of winners at www.lionsclubs.org/humanitarian-winners.

About Lions International

Lions International is the largest service club organization in the world. More than 1.4 million members in over 49,000 clubs are serving in 200 countries and geographic areas around the globe. Since 1917, Lions have strengthened local communities through hands-on service and humanitarian projects, and we extend our service impact through the generous support of our Lions Clubs International Foundation. We are focused on supporting vision, the environment, childhood cancer, hunger, diabetes and other pressing humanitarian needs to help address some of the biggest challenges facing humanity. For more information about Lions International, visit lionsclubs.org.

About the Stephen Lewis Foundation

For more than 20 years, the Stephen Lewis Foundation has challenged traditional power structures in international development and philanthropy by shifting resources into the hands of local communities. The HIV epidemic remains a public health emergency in sub-Saharan Africa fueled by racism, gender inequality, and colonialism. Committed to community-led solutions, we provide funding and allyship to local organizations who are restoring hope, reclaiming human rights, fighting injustice, and saving lives.

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