On Jan. 6, two of the members of the Lewisburg Lions Club visited the regional Lions eyeglass recycling facility in Roanoke, Virginia.
This facility processes approximately 10,000 eyeglasses per month and is completely operated by volunteers.
Jim Newman is the director and is also a member of the local Cave Springs Lions Club which volunteers every week with approximately 20 individuals.
The Roanoke facility is one of only three recycling facilities on the East Coast. This facility has an operating budget of approximately $22,000 per year, funded completely by donations.
Due to regulations from the FDA and other government entities, recycled glasses are only sent to various countries beyond the United States’ borders. Church mission trips, Doctors without Borders and other nonprofit organizations take all they are able to pack on their different mission events.
While Lions Clubs cannot distribute the regular prescription glasses to the continental United States, they do recycle “readers” to anyone who is in need.
As Lewisburg Lions Club volunteers left the recycling center, approximately 1,000 of these reading glasses were brought back to the local community.
These readers are packaged separately with their prescribed power listed with each set. So far, the Lewisburg club has distributed these to many organizations in the Lewisburg area and Greenbrier County including libraries in Lewisburg, Ronceverte, Rupert, Rainelle and White Sulphur Springs; Greenbrier Health Care Center, Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, Grace Bible Church, Well Spring of Rupert, Committee on Aging, The Americana Shop (Old Stone Presbyterian Church), the women’s shelter, Renick Community Center, Lewisburg Manor, Greenbrier County Food Locker and Habitat for Humanity.
The club is very pleased that they can help local citizens in this small way. One of the Lions Club’s main purposes is to provide eye exams and eye wear for individuals in the community who otherwise could not afford this necessity.
The club welcomes anyone who wishes to visit or join the Lions Club. Also, those willing to donate to this cause may send any donations to Lewisburg Lions Club, P.O. Box 1215, Lewisburg, WV 24901.
