Lions Give The Gift Of Sight

By Kaaren Valenta

Bob Tynan has collected thousands and thousands of pairs of eyeglasses during the past two decades that he has lived in Newtown.

Mr Tynan, a 35-year member of the Lions Club, took over the collection effort for the Newtown club nearly 20 years ago and has been doing it quietly, without fanfare, ever since.

Now Mr Tynan is handing on the responsibility to a new member, Howard Gorham, who will continue in his footsteps, helping to ensure that people in developing nations around the world have access to better vision.

“The Lions are the largest provider of eyeglasses in Africa,” Mr Tynan said.

The World Health Organization estimates that the eyesight of one-fourth of the world’s population can be improved through the use of corrective lenses. Unfortunately for many, a pair of glasses is both unaffordable and inaccessible. In developing countries, an eye exam costs as much as one month’s wages, and a single doctor may serve a community of hundreds of thousands of people.

For nearly 70 years, individual Lions clubs and districts in the United States, Canada, and several other countries have collected used eyeglasses for distribution to the needy in developing nations.

The general public is encouraged to donate their used eyeglasses and sunglasses to their local Lions club in collection boxes at the offices of Dr Roger Moore at 11 Church Hill Road, Dr Joseph Young in the Queen Street shopping center, and Eye Care Plus at Sand Hill Plaza, as well as in the Congregational Church Thrift Shop in Ricky’s Shopping Plaza. The Leo Club at the high school also collects used eyeglasses.

Used eyeglasses that are collected by Lions and other volunteers are recycled at one of 11 Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers throughout the world. The used eyeglasses are cleaned, repaired, and classified by prescription. The eyeglasses are then distributed to those in need by Lion volunteers and other organizations hosting optical missions in developing countries.

“The glasses collected in Newtown are sent to a center in Boston, then shipped to Africa and other countries,” Mr Tynan said.

The Lions also provide eyeglasses and exams through the town’s socials services department to those who need them, mostly schoolchildren, he said.

The Lions do screenings for glaucoma at the annual Health Fair in Newtown and also support eye research. Mr Tynan said the state’s Lions clubs have contributed a total of $3 million to the eye clinic at Yale and about $1.5 million to UConn.

The Newtown Club contributes about $20,000 a year to a wide variety of charitable projects including the international eyesight project.