Members of the Innisfil Lions Club will be attending the 2024 District A-12 Lions Club by participating in the annual convention on Friday and Saturday, but they are not going empty-handed.
"We have collected over 200 pairs of used eyeglasses this year in support of Lions Canada,” said Innisfil club president Alison Jacks.
Jacks said those eyeglasses will be sorted and packed before they are sent to the Canadian Lions Eyeglasses Recycling Centre (CLERC) in Calgary, Alta.
Launched in 1996, the Alberta provincial government provided the CLERC with a facility, a correctional officer and volunteer offenders from the Calgary Correctional Centre (CCC) who work to achieve the CLERC’s mission to provide eyeglasses free of charge to people in developing nations.
CLERC operations manager Darryl Rawleigh told InnisfilToday the centre has donated 7.2 million pairs of glasses to more than 100 countries since its inception.
“(We’ve been) putting smiles on people’s faces for over 25 years around the world through the gift of vision,” Rawleigh said.
Once the CLERC receives the donation made on behalf of the Innisfil club, the donated glasses will be inspected and disinfected before a lensometer is used to read the prescription of each pair. According to its history page, the glasses are sorted by style and shipped in boxes of 350 pairs.
“Many thanks to Stroud Optical and Innisfil Eye Centre who collect on our behalf and to those who dropped off their used eyeglasses at the Lions Hall throughout the year. It's exciting for our club and our supporters to be a part of such a great initiative,” Jacks said.
To learn more about the Innisfil club, visit its website.
