Donate Your Used/Unused Glasses Since Helen Keller’s call to serve as “Knights of the Blind” in 1925, Lions have crusaded for sight preservation through numerous programs. One of the most popular is eyeglass recycling, with nearly 37% of all clubs participating. On average, each club collects 600 eyeglasses, reflecting a worldwide collection of nearly 30 million glasses last year alone. Officially adopted by the association in 1994, the collecting and donating of used eyeglasses enables many in developing countries to see well for the first time. In many countries, an eye exam costs as much as a month’s wages. Even if one can afford these exorbitant costs, seeing a doctor is very difficult, for there is often only one doctor for hundreds of thousands of people. Poor eyesight that is left untreated can cause blindness or force adults in unemployment. According to reports by the World Health Organization, the vision of one in four people could be improved with a pair of corrected eyeglasses. That equates to 500 million people who could easily have improved vision. By age 40, as many as 90% of adults need glasses in order to read. After Lions collect glasses then send or take them directly to an official Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center (LERC). There are 13 official Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers around the world — seven in the U.S., and one each in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Republic of South Africa and Spain. For the complete list of LERCs, please visit the Lions Clubs International Web site at www.lionsclubs.org. Once the glasses are received by the LERCs, volunteers of the centers sort through the thousand of sun glasses and eyeglasses, separating them by prescription. Mission teams then hand-deliver the glasses to people in developing countries. Resources There are many resources to aid a Lions club’s recycling program: • Lions Clubs International Web site at www.lionsclubs.org has a section devoted to eyeglass recycling. •The Lions Recycle for Sight Activity Guide (PR-782) can be downloaded from the Resources/Publications/Vision section of the Web site at www.lionsclubs.org or obtain a copy by calling (630) 571-5466, ext. 358. Be sure to complete the collection total form and send to headquarters. •Club Supplies has collection boxes, box stickers, banners and the video “New Glasses, New Life” (PR-28V) available for purchase through the Club Supplies catalog or Web site. *Adapted from: “Make Plans to Recoil For Sight,” The Lion, March 2006. pp. 36-37.