CEDAR KEY, APRIL 3. As spring cleaning gets under way, the Cedar Key Lions are asking people to look through dresser drawers and closets for used eyeglasses and donate them to the Lions Recycle For Sight program.
April kicks off the Cedar Key Lions Club Recycle for Sight project. The Lions will be collecting used prescription eyeglasses and prescription and non-prescription sunglasses as well as hearing aids as part of a unique recycling program. The collected glasses will be cleaned and prepared for distribution in developing countries where eye and hearing care is often unaffordable and inaccessible. "We need everyone to donate their used eyeglasses," said Judy Howerton, eyeglass collection coordinator. "In most developing countries, an eye exam can cost as much as one month`s wages and a single eye doctor may serve a community of hundreds of thousands of people."
The donated glasses will be shipped to a regional Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center where they will be cleaned, categorized by prescription and prepared for distribution by Lions and other groups.
To donate used glasses (including sunglasses, reading glasses as well as hearing aids,) place them in the specially marked Lions Recycle For Sight collection boxes located at the Cedar Key Drummond Community Bank branch and the St. Johns Episcopal Church Fellowship Hall, or drop them off at the front desk at Cedar Key City Hall.
The Cedar Key Lions Club has 31 members and meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 6:30 at the Cedar Key Community Center. Lions clubs are a group of men and women who identify needs within the community and work together to fulfill those needs. For more information or to get involved with the Cedar Key Lions Club, please contact Pam Oakley at 352 543 0809. Lions Clubs International is the world`s largest service club organization with more than 1.3 million members in approximately 45,000 clubs in 205 countries and geographical areas around the world. Since 1917, Lions clubs have aided the blind and visually impaired and made a strong commitment to community service and serving youth throughout the world. The Cedar Key Lions club also assists those in need in obtaining vision exams and eyeglasses, as well as eye surgery and hearing aids. For more information about the vision care program contact Jennie Pinto at (352) 325-1066. For information on the Lions Hearing Aid program, contact Roland Senecal at (352) 543 9850. | 
