Second Grader Collects Hundreds of Eyeglasses for Lion's Club

Katherine Savas’ community service project is a way for her to help people who need eyeglasses and to honor her grandfather’s memory at the same time. The second grader at Jefferson Lighthouse Elementary School collected 235 pairs of used eyeglasses for the Lion’s Club, and the idea for the project came to her when her grandfather passed away last winter.

“Her grandfather died in December,” said Katherine’s mother, Helen Savas. “We were cleaning out his house and there were a lot of extra glasses. At the same time, her school was having the students pick a community service project. We realized this would be the best fit for Grandpa’s eyeglasses.”

Katherine, 7, made posters and went door-to-door in her neighborhood, introducing herself and asking for eyeglasses. She extended her collection efforts at school, where a donation box was placed in the teachers’ lounge. And her brother Steve, a 4th grader at Jefferson Lighthouse, garnered some eyeglasses from students at his karate school. All-in-all, the initiative took six weeks, her mom said.

“Her Aunt Kaye (Langel) helped collect some where she lives, at Parkview Senior Center, in Racine,” Savas said. “And then my husband Tom collected some at his work, Modine Manufacturing. They would each hand us a bag and we never knew if there would be 3 pairs in there or 30 pairs.”

But the pairs added up, and soon, the Savas’ dining room became Command Central for the sorting and counting process, Savas said.

“So we had a math lesson, counting them in groups of ten,” she said. “Personall,y I couldn’t believe it when we broke a hundred. She had a classmate that also donated a lot because his mother worked at Lenscrafters so he donated about two dozen. It was just a matter of everyone opening their drawers and pulling out the old glasses.”

Other students chose projects relating to food banks, animal shelters or parks, Savas said, adding the project idea was beneficial.

“I think it’s nice that the school actually encouraged us to do something like this, and then, hopefully, the parents back it up at home,” she said. “It’s another reminder to be generous and charitable.”

Katherine presented her collection at a Lion’s Club meeting in February. The organization collects and recycles eyeglasses, and then donates them to individuals in need. Though Katherine doesn’t have a need for vision correction, she’s quite fond of the look of eyeglasses.

“I don’t wear glasses but I wish I did,” said Katherine, still surprised at how successful her project was. I thought I would get at least a hundred, and I got 235. I think my Grandpa would be very proud.”