Hopkins Lions Club to Collect Used Eyeglasses at Mainstreet Days

(The following news release was submitted by the Hopkins Lions.)

 

As spring cleaning gets under way, the Hopkins Lions are asking people to look through dresser drawers and closets for used eyeglasses and donate them to the Lions Recycle For Sight program. On Saturday, May 19th during Mainstreet Days, the Hopkins Lions Club will be collecting used prescription eyeglasses and prescription and non-prescription sunglasses as part of a unique recycling program. The collected glasses will be cleaned and prepared for distribution in developing countries where eye care is often unaffordable and inaccessible.

“We need everyone to donate their used eyeglasses,” said Gary Aiken, Sight Chairperson for the club. “In most developing countries, an eye exam can cost as much as one month’s wages and a single eye doctor may serve a community of hundreds of thousands of people.” The donated glasses will be shipped to the regional Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. They will be cleaned, categorized by prescription and prepared for distribution by Lions and other groups.

To donate used glasses (including sunglasses and reading glasses), place them in the specially marked Lions Recycle For Sight collection boxes this Saturday at the Lions Mainstreet Days booth on Mainstreet between Ninth Avenue and 10^th Avenue. Year-round collections sites include Sunshine Car Wash, Hopkins Auto Body, and the Hopkins Elks Club.

The Hopkins Lions Club has 65 members and meets on the first Monday of the month (September to June) at 7 p.m. at the Hopkins Elks Club. Lions clubs are a group of men and women who identify needs within the community and work together to fulfill those needs. For more information or to get involved with the Hopkins Lions Club, please contact Linda Williams at 612-581-8524.

Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization with more than 1.3 million members in approximately 45,000 clubs in 205 countries and geographical areas around the world. Since 1917, Lions clubs have aided the blind and visually impaired and made a strong commitment to community service and serving youth throughout the world.

For more information about Lions Clubs International, visit the Web site at http://www.lionsclubs.org.