The Heritage Lions sorted and boxed 812 eyeglasses and 337 eyeglass cases they had gathered for the Indiana Lions “Project Eyeglass Recycling”. Many Indiana Lions Clubs recycle eyeglasses and other items (including eyeglass cases, sunglasses, reading glasses, hearing aids and batteries, and even cell phones). Indiana Lions leads the USA in gathering donated eyeglasses, and all of the local Lions clubs participate in the effort. Donation boxes are located in libraries, post offices, funeral homes and optometrists’ offices and stores over several counties.
All local Lions chapter bring their donations to the Ossian home of Roger Cash, Past District Governor of Indiana Lions District 25B. Once Mr. Cash has enough boxes, he loads them onto a trailer and takes them to the Arcola Lions for cleaning and further organization. From there, the eyeglasses go to the Westville Correctional Facility, where the inmates determine lens strength further the recycle process. Finally, the glasses are shipped overseas to Lions International, the host of eighteen Centers around the world.
There are seven countries with approved Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers, located in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Republic of South Africa, and the United States. Used eyeglasses are collected, sorted, washed and evaluated for prescription strength. Eye doctors on mission trips take these eyeglasses with them as they give eye exams. They are able to give a recycled pair of eyeglasses to anyone needing a prescription. Eyeglasses are fitted to them at no charge. Poor and needy individuals in 49 countries have been aided through this Lions program. Education and employment are key components to combat poverty. With new eyeglasses, the recipients again could see well enough to return to work or become more engaged in school studies.
Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers operate voluntarily with the support of public donations, individual member contributions, and Lions Clubs International Foundation grants. Many Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers help minimize landfill waste by supporting precious metal reclamation and scrap processing. Broken glasses are discarded, providing “scrap to cash” income that can aid local community projects. 100% of public donations to Lions clubs are used for charitable causes – none go for administrative expenses.
Globally, one child in four cannot see well enough to learn to read without eyeglasses. By age 40, 90% of all adults experience a decrease in their ability to read print. Many emerging countries lack the resources to manufacture quality lenses, and the cost of importing eyeglasses is far beyond the means of the average citizen. Millions fail to reach their economic, educational, and social potential without access to quality eyeglasses. It is estimated four million pairs of glasses are thrown away each year.
The World Health Organization estimates that the eyesight of one-fourth of the world’s population can be improved through the use of corrective lenses. Unfortunately for many, a pair of glasses is both unaffordable and inaccessible. In developing countries, an eye exam costs as much as one month’s wages, and a single doctor may serve a community of hundreds of thousands of people. According to Lions Clubs International, 70,330,006 pair of used eyeglasses were collected and 33,136,463 have been distributed since 1995 (and this statistic is only up to 2012).
It is only through the kindness of our eyeglass and hearing aids donors, that we can offer the gift of sight or sound to those in need. All Lions members thank you for your donations.
Lions Clubs International is the largest service club organization in the world. Since 1925, Lions Clubs have aided the blind and visually impaired, championed youth initiatives, and strengthened communities through hands-on service and humanitarian projects.
