Millions of adults and children throughout the world have no access to medical care, vision care in particular. You can be a good recycler and help these people at the same time.
Do you have any old eyeglasses tucked into a drawer somewhere? They can be prescription or non-prescription, regular or sunglasses. What you are not using any longer can be a real blessing to someone who would otherwise not be able to get a pair of glasses.
If you have a Sterling Optical or a LensCrafters near you, they have barrels in the store for collecting those no longer used glasses. If not, the following information tells you where to send your glasses. The mailing costs are only a few pennies and the benefits are great. It's a mitzvah and it's recycling at its best.
*If you have used prescription or nonprescription glasses or sunglasses in your drawers, desks, or closets, you can donate them now! Children’s glasses are especially needed.
*Package the glasses and mail them to Lions Clubs International, Attention: Receiving Department, 300 W. 22nd Street, Oak Brook, IL 60523.
*Please wrap the glasses well in tissue so they will not break in transit.
*Used eyeglasses are of no commercial value; therefore, choose the least expensive means of shipping to the recycling centers (usually third or fourth class mail.) Label the box, "No commercial value."
*We have the world’s largest collection of used eyeglasses to help improve the impaired vision of 153 million children and adults in developing nations who have little or no access to basic eye care.
Please pass this along to anyone you know of who wears glasses of any type and who might have an old pair sitting around. To give the gift of sight to someone--how can we pass this up? Tizku l'mitzvos.
3 comments:
We have several local frum opthamologists/optometrists/opticians in my area and they recycle eyeglasses to frum people. You might try that first as an option and if not go the other routes.
I contacted a number of frum opthalmologists/optometrists none of whom were interested in getting donated frames. Among the reasons given to me were that the frum community is too small as it is, and the indigent part of that community even smaller for it to be worthwhile going through trying to fix up an old pair of glasses that might or might not have a recipient, particularly given the huge number of non-prescription frames that might be donated as well. As one put it: "If someone can't afford the necessary glasses I'll work with them on that. But this is my business from which I make a living and I don't sell used. I sell new." It was actually two of these frum people who told me about the Lions program and about the chain stores who accept donations that they then forward to Lions.
If an optometrist in your area would be interested in expanding to include lots of donations from other parts of the city, please find out and post his phone number/address.
I was taught that for "darchei shalom" it is quite permissible to donate to organizations that aren't jewish. My eye doctor doesn't recycle glasses. When I asked him he also told me about the Lions--strange name that one. now that I have the address I can get rid of half of my junk drawer, where the old glasses all ended up. A head start on making Pesach.
Post a Comment