Do you have old specs that are tucked away and no longer useful to you?  There are several programs that will accept your gently used eyewear and distrubute them to communities worldwide, often to developing countries.

Everyone wins: you declutter and someone else benefits.  Two major programmes in Australia are:

One Sight and Lions Clubs “recycle for sight”

If neither of these programmes are in your area, try www.recyclingnearyou.com.au (“select Glasses/sight and reading”)  for more ideas, or try google.

Most programmes will accept:

• spectacles
• non prescription sunglasses and
• cases (hard, not soft).

Eyewear is then processed by trained volunteers to be passed onto those in need.  In many cases, the lenses can be reused, even if the frames cannot. Sometimes the cases are simply used to aid with shipping.

In Australia, you can donate to the One Sight programme via Laubman & Pank, OPSM, Sunglass Hut and Budget Eyewear. Simply drop them off at any branch.  If you’re a SORTED! client, we’ll donate your specs so it’s one less task for you to do.

Imagine not having the gift of vision simply because you don’t have access to the specs.  As someone with poor eyesight, I know my quality of life would be sorely compromised without my specs or contacts.