Helping thousands see

Thousands of people will be able to see better thanks to the North Okanagan Lions Clubs.

Residents of Vernon and surrounding areas donated their used eyeglasses to the Lions eyeglass recycling project.

Lion Mike Smith recently delivered 4,685 pairs of used glasses to Day & Ross in Kelowna on behalf of three area Lions Clubs.

Vernon Lions collected 2,190 pairs, Enderby Lions 1,254 pairs and Armstrong Lions 1,241 pairs.

The Vernon Lions contribution represents approximately 75 hours of club members' time collecting, sorting, counting and boxing.

Day & Ross deliver the glasses for free to Canadian Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centre in Calgary.

The Lions Eyeglass Project was officially launched in 1996 in Calgary.

The Alberta government supplied the Calgary Correctional Centre with glasses where they were sorted, sanitized and repaired. A Lensometer was used to determine the prescription before being placed in appropriate boxes for shipping.

The program has since gone international with recycling locations in Australia, France, New Zealand, Spain, the United States, Italy and South Africa.

The glasses are then delivered to developing nations around the world.