A new life for your glasses

Have you accumulated a bunch of much-loved but utterly old-fashioned glasses in your drawers? They are not in use anymore, but you don’t have the heart to let them go?  For many, old glasses are important and they evoke memories of a particular stage or period in life. Would it be easier to give up old glasses, if you knew they would be used for a good cause?

The used spectacles brought to us continue their lives through, among other things, Annantalo Arts Centre art education. Recycled glasses are useful, for example, in the decoration projects of children’s art workshops. Well-served glasses can become part of a young artist’s masterpiece. We also donate used glasses to the Recycling Center that has a free wholesale from where, for example, school groups can pick up craft supplies to use.

Used glasses are no longer sent to developing countries as used to be the case before.  The problem has been that the glasses have not been exactly suitable for the recipient – the lens strengths and the fit of the glasses have often been almost there, but not quite.  Especially for children’s developing eyesight, it is important that the lens strengths are correct, and the frames fit well on the face.

So instead, for each pair of recycled glasses, we make a donation to Miracle of Sight. The non-profit organization directs funds to give to better access to eye examinations and the manufacture of spectacles in the recipient countries. One donation covers the cost of glasses for two people that need them. They receive an eye examination, and the glasses are made to be just the right fit for the recipient.

So give your the drawers a proper clear out and give your old glasses a new lease on life.

Photos: Pixabay