BEL AIR, Md. — It's the gift of sight to those in Bel Air and beyond. The Lions Club gives away free glasses and eye exams to people who can't afford a new pair.
Lions Clubs, you may recognize them for their blue and yellow symbol, but even more noticeable is their vision to help others see clearly.
"Wow, I mean being able to see is a very important thing and it can make a mark difference in your life and your perception of the world,” said David Ellis who is a member of the Lions Club Bel Air.
For Charles Horton that has never been more true. “It was great relief, it does give me more motivation to keep moving forward to try to do better in my life.”
Inspiration that came after being referred to the nonprofit.
Although he had glasses before, his prescription changed and getting a new pair was just not in the budget.
"The previous pair I had, the nose, the plastic nose pads had come off and it started causing dry skin issues cause of the metal on the skin,” said Horton who received a free pair of glasses.
Horton is one of about 70 residents in Harford County to get a free eye exam and free glasses every year from the Lions Club.
Given a voucher he was off to see Doctor John Hayes, who partners with the nonprofit.
"These individuals, they typically have health issues, they typically are below the poverty line, they have medical care but they don't have much care for items like eyeglasses or hearing aids. They kind of fall through the cracks sometimes,” said Hayes who is the eye doctor at MyEyeDoctor in Bel Air.
It’s a service Hayes said he enjoys providing.
Improvement that gave Horton not only a clear vision but also a clear path.
"I do tend to walk places so it's nice to be able to not just hear things coming but to see things oncoming as well,” said Horton.
But it isn't just those locally the nonprofit helps, their vision spreads far. The Lions Club has boxes throughout the community where people can donate their old prescription glasses that are sitting around their house.
It's called Recycle for Sight, a collection of donated eyeglasses for those who can't afford them.
"Typically on a six month basis we collect 20,000 pairs of eye glasses which are sorted into readers, prescription, nonprescription, broken frames and so forth,” said Ellis.
The glasses are refurbished, packaged, and sent overseas to people in countries who would otherwise be without.
"We have some members in our club that are from Nepal and they were telling us that back in India the services that we have here aren't available and it makes a big difference you know if you can't see you can't work,” said Ellis.
A simple donation that can go a long way.
If you are interested in donating, you can find more information here.
