The Pickerington Lions Club:
Eyeglass Collection Efforts
The World Health Organization estimates 153 million people around the world have uncorrected refractive errors (near-sightedness, far-sightedness, astigmatism). Refractive errors can be easily corrected with eyeglasses, yet millions of people in third world countries lack access to basic servies.
Once we collect the glasses, we send them to the SVOSH program at OSU's College of Optometry where they are cleaned, sorted, graded (using a lensometer to determine the prescription) and packaged by prescription. Once or twice a year, the OSU Optometry students, doctors and Lions go to mission trips in poor countries and set up eyeglass care camps. Hundreds of people from miles away come to get their eyes checked for free and get fitted with the recycled glasses. Minor eye surgeries are performed as well. In many cases, people leave seeing clearly for the first time in their lives!
Why do we send the glasses to foreign countries and not give them to the needy in America? Because it is illegal in the US to give someone the prescription of someone else.
How can you help? Just drop off your extra, unwanted eyeglasses in one of our collection boxes at any of the locations above. We can use the following:
THANK YOU for your support!
