Message from Executive Director, Mary Devon O'Brien

New Jersey Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center

All the work at the New Jersey Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center (NJLERC), a 501 (c) 3 organization, is performed by volunteers who are committed to help to bring sight to needy people in areas of poverty around the world. Donating the eyeglasses you no longer need to the New Jersey Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center (NJLERC), enables these recycled, processed eyeglasses to be taken on missions to bring sight to needy people outside the United States.

When requests are made by Lions, charity and/or medical groups for eyeglasses to take on missions that provide eye exams and eyeglasses to needy people, the requested number and type of eyeglasses (that have already been processed and identified) are selected from those that are stored, and these are then repackaged for that mission shipment. 

In addition to transporting eyeglasses to the center, the volunteers also sort eyeglasses by type (sunglasses, single lens, bifocal etc.) and remove unsalvageable scratched lenses or unusable parts, clean and sterilize the eyeglasses, read the prescription of each pair of eyeglasses on a lensometer, package each pair of eyeglasses in a plastic bag with the identifying prescription written on the clear plastic bag, and then store the packaged eyeglasses in boxes by like prescription. 

The New Jersey Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center depends on donations from individuals and Lions Clubs and Charitable Foundations to keep its operations going. While a small handling fee for non-Lion groups and shipping costs are expected to be paid by the requesting organization, the New Jersey Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center still has many non-reimbursed costs such as eyeglass cleaning and storage materials, lens reading and cleaning equipment, processed eyeglass storage containers, insurance, eyeglass van transportation maintenance, and the like.
 
A donation of any size is much appreciated, and an easy credit card donation method is available on this web site. Checks made payable to NJLERC can also be mailed to P.O. Box 7263; West, Trenton, NJ 08628 (be sure to provide your name and address to receive a letter of acknowledgement for your donation). Your financial donation will help to provide for the materials and supplies needed for the volunteers to perform the work of processing the recycled eyeglasses for use on missions that serve visually impaired people.
 
Please consider sending any eyeglasses that are no longer useful to you to the New Jersey Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center (P.O. Box 7263; West, Trenton, NJ 08628).  Whether with a donation of recycled eyeglasses and/or with a financial donation, your donation will help our volunteers to bring sight to many needy people.  

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Mary Devon O'Brien

Executive Director