ROCKFORD, Mich. — If you're like many people who wear glasses, you probably have some old pairs gathering dust in a drawer. In Rockford, the Lions Club wants you to donate those old specs so they can put them to good use.
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Scout Troop 264 and the Rockford Lions Club were recently busy cleaning and inspecting donated glasses, preparing them to be given to people in need.
"Cleaning all these glasses is going to allow people in other countries that might not be able to afford glasses to get glasses," said Mason Oliver from Scout Troop 264.
Fellow scout Trevor Hess appreciated the community's generosity. "I feel like it's very nice that the people are donating the glasses instead of just getting rid of them," he said.
After the glasses are cleaned, volunteers inspect and test them using specialized equipment.
"They go through a lensometer, so that we can know exactly what the prescription of the glasses is, and then we bag them and tag them," said David Menke from the Rockford Lions Club.
The Rockford Lions Club will take the glasses on mission trips to other countries, where they will provide free eye exams and glasses to those who need them.
Menke described the impact of these missions: "When you have people standing 100 people standing in line, hundreds of people standing in line to come in and have their eyes checked and get a pair of glasses and walk out of the way with the biggest smile on their face, you know it's just, it's just very fulfilling."
The volunteer work resonated with the young scouts who were helping with the project.
"There are a lot of people who might not be in the position that a lot of other people are. So, I feel like it's good that we're doing this," Trevor said.
For Menke and the Lions Club, the program represents a meaningful way to help people worldwide.
"Seeing those people being able to see for the first time, or being able to read for the first time, or just, you know, helping. It doesn't matter where the people are in the world. We're helping people out," he said.
Groups interested in volunteering or individuals looking for a drop-off location can find more information at rockfordlionsclub.org.
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