********** LOCAL PROJECTS **********

Recycle Eyeglasses & Other Items

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller 

Usable Glasses Can Make A Difference!

Lions and Leos help to conserve sight by providing usable eyeglasses to children and adults throughout the world. 

Why Recycle Glasses?

An estimated 120 million people (World Health Organization Statistics) are visually impaired because of uncorrected refractive errors (far and near sightedness). Almost all cases can be corrected and normal vision can be restored with eyeglasses, contact lenses or refractive surgery. The lack of eyeglasses denies children and adults opportunities for education, employment and a better quality of life. In just about any dresser drawer, one can find a pair of eyeglasses that are no longer being used. That same pair of eyeglasses can change another person's life.

The Journey of Recycled Glasses

1. Lions and Leos in our Huntley Area Lions Club collect used eyeglasses at various community locations. Lions accept prescription and reading glasses, sunglasses and empty plastic and metal frames.  Children's glasses are especially needed.

2. The glasses are droped off at the Lions of Illinois Foundation (LIF) in DeKalb, IL, where trained volunteers sort, clean, and determine the prescription strengths of the glasses.

3. Volunteers at LIF carefully package the prepared glasses and store them until they are required for eyeglass-dispensing missions. Glasses that are not suitable for reuse are recycled for scrap, with the earnings benefitting local Lions and Leos projects.

4. At the mission site, eye care professionals and trained Lion and Leo volunteers perform vision screenings and dispense the appropriate recycled glasses, free of charge, to children and adults in need. Most of the reusable glasses are distributed to people in need in developing countries where they will have the greatest impact.

Do You Know…

Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers throughout the world clean and store usable recycled eyeglasses. These 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.

Your Efforts Count!

Donate your used glasses, including sunglasses and reading glasses, to a Lions or Leos club collection point near you. See below for the locations of collection boxes.

Eyeglass/Hearing Aid Collection Box Locations in Huntley:

American Legion – 11712 Coral St.

Brunch Café – 12270 Princeton Dr.

Defiore Funeral & Cremation Service - 10763 Dundee-Huntley Rd

Edward Jones – 12167 Regency Pkwy.

First National Bank – (teller will take) – 11700 Rt-47

Grafton Township – 10109 Vine St.

Grafton Food Pantry – 11481 Allison Ct.

Heartland Bank – inside the bank, room to the left – 12101 Regency Pkwy.

Huntley Eye Care (Dr. Mindy Nguyen) – 11809  E Main St.

Huntley 47 Cleaners – 10430 Rt-47

Huntley Area Public Library – 11000 Ruth Rd.

Huntley Park District - 12015 Mill St.

Huntley Springs Retirement Resort – 11700 Samantha Lane

Kaye Eye Care – welcome desk will take – 12545 Farm Hill Dr.

Morfoot Family Eye Care - 10880 N Rt-47

Morkes Chocolates – 11801 Main St.

Prairie Lodge – Sun City – Wellness Center – 12880 Del Webb Blvd.

Shopko Optical – 9940 Rt-47 (in front of the new Jewel-Osco)

Shepard of the Prairie Lutheran Church – 11805 Main St.

For more information, contact a member of the Huntley Area Lions Club or attend one of our monthly meetings.

Chairperson: Lion Stephanie Petty

Veterans Housing Starter Kit Program

This is an ongoing program to assist our homeless veterans.

Please help, especially with the items highlighted in blue below.

As you are aware, far too many Veterans are homeless. The Huntley Area Lions Club, in conjunction with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary, request your support in providing assistance to our homeless Veterans and their families.

The VFW is working diligently with many agencies and organizations to arrange homes for these Veterans.  Once they are placed in housing, these Veterans, who have had essentially nothing, need everything necessary to establish a home.  The "starter kits" provide the basic necessities to begin housekeeping.

The following items are needed to complete "starter kits" for our Vets.  Items marked with an asterisk * must be new; the other items may be gently used.

The Huntley Area Lions Club has established a permanent drop-off location within Huntley. 

--- Please drop off any item(s) listed above at Heartland Bank and Trust Company, 12101 Regency Pkwy, Huntley, Phone: 847-669-9292.

--- There is a collection room inside the bank, in a room to the left.

The Lions will see that all donations are transported to Veteran's Path to Hope in Crystal Lake or to the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago.

Thank you very much for helping those who have served our country.

********** STATE-WIDE PROJECTS *********

Camp Lions of Illinois for Low Vision/Blind  /  Hard-of-Hearing/Deaf Youth

Camp Lions of Illinois for for Blind and Deaf Youth began in 1957 at the urging of Lions members who wanted to give children with vision and/or hearing impairments a summer camp with their peers.

Today, Camp Lions hosts three sites in Illinois where youth with vision and hearing impairments have met, made new friends, & participated in fun, challenging activities.

Click to find out more.

Click to find out more.