During this virus shutdown period, about the only recurring service activity we still have in process is our eyeglass recycling. We collect donated eyeglasses, provide them to a Lions Recycling Center where they are processed and provided to mission teams to dispense around the world. 

But, even that is curtailed.  The new Lions recycling center for performing the actual processing of the eyeglasses remains closed to volunteer workers.

Our club still picks-up donated eyeglasses (and the occasional hearing aids) from our collection boxes around the community, and delivers them to the recycling center.  

At some point, the center will open and we can again show-up to offer our services to characterize eyeglasses for sorting, boxing, and delivery by medical mission teams.

Our most recent report from the Club’s Eyeglass Recycling Committee states, for the past year (July 2019 – June 2020) we collected 10,138 pair of donated eyeglasses, and delivered them to the recycling center.

  Below is the end-of-year (July 2018- June 2019) report from the Fairfax Lions Club’s Eyeglass Recycling committee.  These volunteers work at least twice every month at the Northern VA Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center, and collect donated eyeglasses from various points in the Fairfax area.

    Please note:  10,229 pair of used eyeglasses were collected and delivered to the Recycling Center – the most ever in one year!  The Recycling Center has over the past 21 years delivered over 3.5 million pair of eyeglasses to persons in need around the world – WE SERVE!

Several Fairfax Lions serve twice each month at the EGRC.  Their work includes collecting and taking to the center donated eyeglasses (can be several hundred pair of eyeglasses each trip) and “processing” eyeglasses for a few hours. Processing means running a pair of cleaned/serviceable eyeglasses through a machine that defines the corrective prescription, labeling a bag with the prescription, and bagging the glasses. Donated hearing aides are also taken to the center.  A summary of this service so far in this Lions year, by the team from Fairfax Lions Club:

• Delivered 4759 pair of donated eyeglasses
• Delivered 7 donated hearing aids
• Worked 127 hours processing eyeglasses

The results generated by ALL Lions Clubs in our District 24-A are very impressive, in terms of the numbers of donated eyeglasses recycled and delivered to persons in need:

• USABLE EYEGLASSES collected across all Northen VA (Lions DISTRICT 24-A):   82,299 pairs collected

• Requests for EYEGLASSES filled (delivered to persons in need)

10-4-17                Guatemala                         1800

10-4-17                Guatemala                         1200

10-10-17              Uganda                               1600

10-11-17              Haiti                                     600

10-12-17              Panama                              1200

10-13-17              Guatemala                         1000

10-15-17              Panama                              1200

10-20-17              Dominican Republic         1200

11-9-17                Haiti                                     300

11-9-17                Nigeria                                1500

11-9-17                Nigeria                                2450

11–13-17            India                                    1400

11-13-17              Ghana                                 1400

11-13-17              Guatemala                         1000

11-27-17              Ghana                                 6600

11-29-17              Haiti                                     600

11-30-17              India                                    1450

11-30-17              Guatemala                         1050

12-5-17                Ghana                                 1800

12-8-17                Ghana                                 6600

12-15-17              Ghana                                 1800

12-15-17              Guatemala                         1600

TOTAL : 39,350 pairs processed and delivered

WE SERVE!

Fairfax Lions collect used eyeglasses and deliver them to a regional Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center.  Fairfax Lions join other volunteers at one of these recycling centers to clean, polish, classify, sort, and box donated eyeglasses. They are then distributed free-of-charge to needy individuals around the world – typically via medical mission teams (with the assistance of an optometrist on the team or at the distant location).

Donated hearing aids are taken to the District 24-L Virginia Lions Hearing Aid Bank Foundation where they are refurbished and provided to needy individuals typically through collaboration between the Foundation, several local hearing aid doctors, Fairfax County Health Department, and a local Lions Club.

It doesn’t take much effort to drop off that old pair of spectacles or hearing aids at your local business or Lions Club. Even if you don’t wear eyeglasses or hearing aids, please encourage others to donate them. This small gesture can make a world of difference.

Through the generosity of the following businesses and agencies, the Fairfax Lions Club maintains eyeglass and hearing aid collection boxes. Please bring your used eyeglasses to one of these locations and help us in this very worthy project.

You can find a collection box at these locations…

Our Club collects eyeglasses donated by members of our community; we help process those eyeglass at the Northern VA Lions Eyeglasses Recycling Center, and the fruits of that work – recycled eyeglasses – are distributed to help needy persons around the world see better.

Twice monthly, several members of our Club take donated eyeglasses to, and work a few hours at, the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center.  In Arlington, the center is  in a Virginia Hospital Center building.  Lions have their own entrance to the building.

In the recycling center, the first  step is washing and inspecting the eyeglasses.  The clean and serviceable eyeglasses are stored in “Washed” bins until volunteers can “process” them.

Teams from several local area Clubs process the eyeglasses using sophisticated machines in the Center that read the correction of each lens.  The volunteers mark that correction factor on the plastic bag they put the eyeglass into.  The product of this volunteer effort are eyeglasses that have been through the complete process, packaged and then shipped around the world to help others.

Lions Read Eyeglass Lens Correction

So, what are the measures of Fairfax Lions Club’s service at the recycling center?  We track the number of Lions, and the hours they work at the Center each month, and the number of donated eyeglasses and hearing aids we collect and deliver to the center.

Service Delivered by Fairfax Lions to NoVA Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center

Volunteers         Hours        Glasses          Hearing Aids

(For 12 months, Lions year 2017-2018)

90              193         7415                18

(And so far this year July-August, 2018)

11               22          2217                  0

Fairfax Lions collect eyeglasses donated by area residents, and provide them to people in need. There are collection boxes at numerous locations; see list at: http://www.fairfaxlions.org/?s=eyeglass+recycling

September, 2017, was a bountiful month; we collected 921 pairs of eyeglasses (and 4 hearing aids – which we also recycle for persons in need). We thank everyone their donations!

Lions clean, inspect, categorize, and package the donated glasses at the LIONS EYEGLASS RECYCLING CENTER OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA in Arlington, VA http://www.valions.org/egrc/index.html. This volunteer service is especially rewarding when you consider the number of people who can see better after receiving a pair of recycled eyeglasses.  WE SERVE!