Please Consider Getting Involved With Sight Night And Collect Used Glasses For Lions

[mtblujeans]

At www.sightnight.org you can send for or download materials needed to collect used glasses this October to be redistributed to those who can get use from them.

The sight explains everything and this program is a joint effort of Lenscrafters and Lions International.

 

[mtblujeans]

 

[mtblujeans]

 

[monkeyboy]

YEp great cause

 

[missypie]

I wish I had remembered the Lion's Club. About 2 weeks after I had LASIK, I threw away all my glasses, past and present.

Are you a member of the Lions Club or involved in the glasses drive? I think it would be a great idea to ask to post signs or other materials or have brochures available (or even collection boxes) at the many many clinics that do LASIK surgery. When people come in for their follow up visits, they would have a great time putting their glasses in the collection box.

 

[KathyTX]

This is absolutely a great thing to do with your old glasses.

My mom's been working with the Lions' Club for years, conducting eye exams and fitting glasses for local children from families who otherwise could not afford them.

What they do with the donated glasses, though, is use them in their mission trips to third world countries. Mom's traveled to Haiti on some of these trips, where an amazing number of people with no access to any sort of regular medical care are screened and fitted with the donated glasses. Doctors also perform many, many cataract and other eye surgeries on these trips.

When glasses are donated, volunteers check them for damage, repair what they can, read the scrips, and label the glasses. Then, when they do the eye exams on their trips, they take the supplies of donated glasses along. As each patient is examined, the Lions volunteers check the donated glasses to get the closest fit they can to each patient. The glasses are fitted on the spot, and many of these people are able to see well for the first time ever when they leave these traveling clinics.

 

[mtblujeans]

I am not a member of Lions but I am going to put some containers at some local schools and ask families to donate old kids' glasses. I don't think we have any local Lasik clinics, either (we are a small community for the time being) but I think that is a great idea.

We don't have a Lenscrafters in our town, either, the closest one is 2 hours away but I think the concept is a really good one and I am willing to send the glasses collected to the nearest Lenscrafters.

You can print the information out in color or black & white at their website. I think it sounds like it is one of those good community projects that practically runs itself but has a great outcome.

I just found this on the web and I think, next year, I will ask to make it a project for our 4H group.

 

[mtblujeans]

 

[mtblujeans]

I did it! I got orange pumpkin-looking buckets from the Dollar Store, printed out their icon labels from their website and taped them on the buckets, and took them to 4 schools in our area with the information they provide to collect used glasses.

If we get a good response, and I think we will as the schools were excited to get involved, I will go to more schools next October and ask them to help collect used glasses, too. I am excited!

 

[mtblujeans]

I've collected over 50 pairs of glasses so far! I will do this again next year......they should be used to the program by then and, hopefully, we can gather even more. I think I will ask the assistance of the school PTAs next year, too.

 

[mtblujeans]

 

[RobinMarie]

It's a great cause!

 

[janette]

Thanks for the link, my DH cleaned out his drawer and has several pairs of old glasses and I have a few pair of my DD's old ones and I know they need kids glasses sometimes the most. I didn't know where to take them but sounds like I just need to drop them off at Lenscrafters

 

[AdventurerKat]

I didn't realize so many lions had vision problems.

(Sorry, couldn't resist. Good cause)

 

[mtblujeans]

Yes, and you are correct....kids' glasses are always needed! Thanks for giving!!

 

[MsDisney23]

I have been doing this for some time now! I am visually impaired, LensCrafter's has a drop can all year round. This is a great cause..

 

[RoyalCanadian]

I toured the headquarters of Christian Blind Mission International (might operate under a different name in different countries -- it's Christoph Blind Mission International in Germany) in Unionville, Ontario where all the glasses collected by Lion's Clubs in Canada are sent. Many church groups also collect eyeglasses and Canada Post ships the boxes free of charge to the headquarters in Unionville. The work they do is outstanding.

Don't worry if the lenses are cracked or missing -- they don't use the lenses. (Other groups might do things differently) The frames are the important thing. They don't want to give people a set of glasses that are only OK for their needed prescription -- they want to give individuals who needs glasses their exact prescription. CBMI teaches local people in each country how to correctly grind prescription lenses from ordinary window glass, which is readily available around the world. The correct result is achieved and someone has learned a new skill that can benefit the community.

CBMI also distributes Vitamin A tablets; medications to help prevent river blindness and performs cataract surgery and lens replacement surgery. The lens replacement surgery costs $25,000 to perform in Canada. CBMI is able to achieve the same results for $25 in the field.

 

[mtblujeans]

WOW! I didn't realize all that....!

 

[Cindy B]

So what exactly do they do with the glasses? Will they take kids glasses? My son just got new glasses and has two pair of his older ones.

ETA: Never mind, read it on the other page not this one.