MENU

Sections

  • Home
  • About
    • The Chestertown Spy
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising & Underwriting
      • Advertising Terms & Conditions
    • Editors & Writers
    • Dedication & Acknowledgements
    • Code of Ethics
    • Chestertown Spy Terms of Service
    • Technical FAQ
    • Privacy
  • The Arts and Design
  • Local Life and Culture
  • Public Affairs
    • Ecosystem
    • Education
    • Health
  • Community Opinion
  • Donate to the Chestertown Spy
  • Free Subscription
  • Talbot Spy
  • Cambridge Spy

More

  • Support the Spy
  • About Spy Community Media
  • Advertising with the Spy
  • Subscribe
May 15, 2025

Chestertown Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Chestertown

  • Home
  • About
    • The Chestertown Spy
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising & Underwriting
      • Advertising Terms & Conditions
    • Editors & Writers
    • Dedication & Acknowledgements
    • Code of Ethics
    • Chestertown Spy Terms of Service
    • Technical FAQ
    • Privacy
  • The Arts and Design
  • Local Life and Culture
  • Public Affairs
    • Ecosystem
    • Education
    • Health
  • Community Opinion
  • Donate to the Chestertown Spy
  • Free Subscription
  • Talbot Spy
  • Cambridge Spy
Local Life 9 Brevities

Lions Club Adds Iconic Eyeglass Donation Spot

October 23, 2023 by Spy Desk

Share

The Chestertown Lions Club has recently recycled a former US postal box as a very visible drop-off point for used eyeglass donations. Located on Cross St between the Chestertown Chamber of Commerce and the Town offices, the brightly painted purple box is available anytime for donations. Donated eye glasses are recycled and distributed to the needy in less developed countries (US law forbids giving used glasses).

Usable Glasses do make a difference. Lions and Leos help to conserve sight by providing usable eyeglasses to children and adults throughout the world. Why Recycle Glasses? According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 120 million people are visually impaired because of uncorrected refractive errors (far and near sightedness). The lack of eyeglasses denies children and adults opportunities for education, employment and a better quality of life.

The Journey of Recycled Glasses: Lions collect used eyeglasses at various community locations. The glasses are shipped to the nearest Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center where trained volunteers sort, clean and determine the prescription strengths of the glasses. Volunteers at the recycling center carefully package the prepared glasses and store them until they are required for eyeglass-dispensing missions. Glasses that are not suitable for reuse are recycled for scrap, helping minimize landfill waste by supporting precious metal reclamation and scrap processing, with any earnings benefitting local Lions and Leos projects. At the mission site, eye care professionals and trained Lion and Leo volunteers perform vision screenings and dispense the appropriate recycled glasses–free of charge–to children and adults in need.

Chestertown Lions Club member Mike Gallagher found the box and coordinated the refurbishment.  Recalls Mike, “On my way to Wilmington one day I spotted the mailbox– in need of some TLC– on DuPont Hwy in front of an old machine shop – I knocked and inquired. The man asked what my intentions for the mailbox were … I explained it was for The Lions Club, to which he responded ‘awesome take it!’. He even helped load and strap it down. His eagerness was based on how his local Lions Club helped him achieve his Eagle Club status. Mike took it to Blackdog Sandblasting and Zierfuss painting company and they performed all the work and provided the labor for free. Todd of Todd’s Bodyshop Chestertown fixed a leg and performed some additional body work.

Vision assistance is one of the key programs of the International Lions Clubs, and the Chestertown branch is involved in that regard by subsidizing eyeglass purchases for local individuals needing financial help and providing free rides to eye doctors’ appointments for those with no transportation or ability to drive. They also contributed an eye screening device for Kent County elementary school children for eyesight problems.

The Club also gives financial contributions to the Lions Leader Dog Program, Johns Hopkins vision research, and two years ago they purchased a Bioptic Telescope for one severely vision-impaired school teacher in Kent County.

Additional eyeglass donation boxes are in the following locations:

Peoples’ Bank

Redner’s Food Market

Shore United Bank

Heron Point

Aqua Fit

St. Paul’s Church hall

Seidenberg Protzko Eye Associates

Dependable Eye Care

Chestertown Yacht Club

U of MD Shore Medical Center Chestertown

Kent County Public Library Chestertown

Women in Need resale store

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Local Life, 9 Brevities

Looking for Adam Levine by Laura J. Oliver The Orthopedic Center Hosts Community Event

Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article

We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.

Copyright © 2025

Affiliated News

  • The Cambridge Spy
  • The Talbot Spy

Sections

  • Arts
  • Culture
  • Ecosystem
  • Education
  • Health
  • Local Life and Culture
  • Spy Senior Nation

Spy Community Media

  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Advertising & Underwriting

Copyright © 2025 · Spy Community Media Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in