The Perry Lions Club is marking World Sight Day Thursday by beginning their annual project of collecting used eyeglasses and hearing aids.
For more than 85 years, the Lions Club International has been collecting used glasses for distribution to developing nations and assisting people with vision problems in the U.S.
In recent years, the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center in Westville, Indiana, has processed
more than 6 million pairs of glasses. Last year the Perry Lions Club received more than 150 pairs of glasses from people in the Perry area, joining with other Lions Clubs across the U.S. to participate in the annual effort.
Once collected, the eyeglasses are sorted and labeled by inmates in the Westville Correctional Facility, who process about 400,000 glasses every year. Recipients receive the glasses for free, with the Lions Club International Foundation underwriting the cost.
The co-chairs of the Perry Lions Club project are David Summerson and Dr. Trisha
Smith of Eye Care Associates. Collection boxes for glasses can be found at many businesses in Perry and in all building of the Perry Community School District and at the Eye Care Associates offices in Perry and Jefferson.
Donations of eye glasses and also hearing aids may also be given to any member of the Perry Lions Club.
Ray Harden is the secretary of the Perry Lions Club.
