Ask the News - March 10

Is there someplace I can take my old eyeglasses where they’ll get used?

The Clovis Evening Lions Club takes used eyeglasses, according to club President Mona Burns.

“Any of the eye doctors in Clovis have the boxes where you can drop off your old eyeglasses. There’s also a large yellow container at S & S Supermarket where you can drop old glasses,” Burns said.

Burns said the club goes through them. The club doesn’t take the eyeglass cases.

“We box them up and take them to Midland, Texas, where they are analyzed for the prescription. Then the glasses are boxed up and shipped around the world, but not to the United States,” Burns said.

Burns noted all kinds of eyeglasses are used, children and adults sizes.

“In Lions Club, our main focus is eyesight. We provide glasses for anyone who’s unable to afford them up to a certain amount. We also provide funding for patients to have cataract surgery,” Burns said.

Burns said the Lions Clubs in New Mexico helps fund a facility in Albuquerque where they remove corneas from cadavers and those are passed on to those who need them.

“We have a New Mexico Lions ‘Operation Kids’ where school nurses recommend a ‘spare pair’ of glasses to be kept at school for kids who forget their glasses,” Burns said.

Burns said in the fall, Lions Club has a team that goes into schools to screen kids kindergarten to third grade for possible recommendation to go to an eye doctor.

The Clovis Evening Lions Club meets at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Pavilion at the Curry County Fairgrounds.

“The Clovis Lions Club has been in existence since 1957,” Burns said.

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