LIONS RECYCLE FOR SIGHT
Your old glasses are someone else's first pair.
We collect used eyewear across the North Shore, and provide it free of charge to people in developing countries. Nothing is thrown away, and nothing is charged.
Our mission is to provide recycled eyewear, free of charge, to people in developing countries. With Lions clubs worldwide, we've served 2,172,113 people through eyeglass collection and recycling.
People Served Worldwide
2,172,113
Through the Lions Recycle for Sight program, running in Lynn Valley for roughly twelve years.
2,172,113
People served worldwide through Lions eyeglass collection and recycling
~10,000
Pairs donated by our club over the last 10 years
~1,000
Pairs picked up each year from local optical shops
13
Drop-off locations across North and West Vancouver
The program
Lynn Valley has recycled roughly 3,000 pairs of glasses in the past three years alone. Our team lead, Ken Pert, collects donated glasses from optical shops throughout the year. Every pair is boxed up and shipped to CLERC in Calgary.
CLERC
The Canadian Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centre. Its mandate is to foster understanding of humanitarian needs among all people, through voluntary service, community involvement and international cooperation.
Calgary Correctional Centre
CLERC runs the eyeglass recycling shop with the CCC. The program gives offenders a way to contribute meaningfully to the global community through hands-on work on every donated pair.
How it works
A pair dropped off on Lynn Valley Road is cleaned, repaired and measured in Calgary, then ordered by an optometrist running a vision clinic overseas — and fitted to the person who needs that exact prescription.
See the six steps in detail Hide the six steps
- 01 Glasses are collected from participating optical shops and boxed for shipping to CLERC in Calgary.
- 02 CLERC forwards the donations to the Calgary Correctional Centre.
- 03 Every pair is cleaned, repaired, sanitized, and measured to determine its prescription.
- 04 The glasses are re-boxed by prescription and returned to CLERC.
- 05 Optometrists and volunteers running vision clinics abroad order the prescriptions they need. CLERC fills the order and ships it to them.
- 06 On the ground, the optometrist matches each pair to the person whose eyes it fits.
The result: our club has donated approximately 10,000 pairs over the last 10 years, while CLERC has sent over 2 million pairs to developing countries.
Where to donate:
Drop your used eyewear at any location below during their business hours — no appointment, no cost. Prescription glasses, reading glasses and sunglasses are all welcome.
North Vancouver
Lynn Valley Optometry
1233 Lynn Valley Rd #255
Westlynn Optical
#112 – 1199 Lynn Valley Rd
Spec Savers
2029 Lonsdale Ave
Spec Savers
333 Seymour Blvd
North Shore Optical
1950 Lonsdale Ave
Da Vinci Optical
1456 Lonsdale Ave
Hollyburn Eye Clinic
#101 – 252 West Esplanade
West Vancouver
Spec Savers
908 Park Royal South
Park Royal Optical
100 – 100 Park Royal S.
Bailey Nelson
#988 – 2002 Park Royal S.
West Van Optometry
1069 – 24th Street
Iris Optical
1685 Marine Drive
Optomeyes
#204 – 1555 Marine Drive
Thank you
The Lynn Valley Lions Club thanks every organization above for acting as an eyeglass drop-off location. We sincerely appreciate your efforts. Together, we recycle glasses that would otherwise be thrown away — and instead give sight to millions around the world.
Vision is one of the global causes of Lions Clubs International.
Read more about the initiative at lionsclubs.org.