The Wisconsin Lions are aiming to collect 100,000 pairs of used eyeglasses by May 2017, so recycle your old eyeglasses and change a life.

Eye care in third world countries is hard to come by and when found, is far too expensive for most to afford. When you consider the importance of sight when it comes to employment and education, it is easy to understand how poor vision leads to increased poverty.  The Monticello Lions Club is working to reverse this by collecting used eyeglasses here, and then recycling them for distribution by Lions and other groups to third world countries.

Monticello Lions President Dan Roe says, “Many people don’t realize the impact those old eyeglasses can have.  When you donate those glasses, the Lions recycle them and fit them to a mother who’s never seen her child’s face or a father who can now work to improve life for his family or a child who can now go to school.  Those eyeglasses are truly life changing and we need you to donate yours today.”

Donating is easy. Simply drop your used eyeglasses in one of the Monticello Lions Club collection containers.  They are located at Gempeler’s Supermarket or at Greenwoods State Bank. The Lions will ship your glasses to the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center, located at the Wisconsin Lions Camp in Rosholt, Wisconsin.  Once there, the glasses will be sorted, cleaned, categorized by prescription and prepared for distribution.

The Wisconsin Lions Foundation administers the Wisconsin Lions statewide projects (Camp, vision screening, hearing program, diabetes education, used eyeglass/hearing aid collection) and is celebrating its 60th year. Learn more at wlf.info. 

Where there’s a need, there’s a Lion - Wisconsin’s 18,000 Lions are men and women who make a difference in their local communities and beyond. Learn more at http://www.wisconsinlions.org.