We are proud to work with Chichester Lions Club which processes tens of thousands of recycled spectacles each year and distributed across the globe.

Giving sight to people across the world!

We have participated in the Lions Sight First project for many years by collecting unwanted and damaged spectacles.

These are then sent to Chichester Lions Club which processes tens of thousands of recycled spectacles each year. All donations are examined by a team of Lions and other volunteers in the recycling workshop. Sorted pairs of glasses may then be sent for grading and distribuion by Medico France in Le Havre.

Glasses are also sent directly to contacts running eye clinics in Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Nigeria and Nepal. In addition, volunteers from the ‘Unite for Sight’ charity are supplied with spectacles to take with them on missions to countries across the world.

The spectacle recycling story
Chichester Lions Club began collecting spectacles for recycling back in 1967. The initiative really took off in 1980 with a delivery of 700 sorted specs to the Missionary Optical Society (MOS) in Devon for use in their clinics in Kenya and India.

Gradually other Lions Clubs started feeding their recycled spectacles through Chichester. So in 1985, a link was established with Le Havre Lions and Medico France. Over the following five years some 100,000 specs, 43,000 lenses, and 10,000 frames were sent to Medico France while still delivering to MOS in Devon as many pairs of sorted specs as it needed.

In 1988, another outlet was established through Vision Aid Overseas, and in 1990, a national campaign with Boots the Chemist and Help The Aged produced 460,000 pairs of specs in six months. Once sorted they went to places such as Cameroon, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Sri Lanka, India, Zanzibar, Jamaica, Bolivia and Brazil.

Spectacle donations arrive in Chichester in boxes and bags of all shapes and sizes. They are expertly sorted by Lions members and volunteers. Those sent onto Medico France are then cleaned and graded for use in eye camps in Africa, India and Eastern Europe.

Through contacts with individuals and charities based in the UK, Chichester Lions make spectacles available for eye-camp projects overseas. Support is also provided for volunteers travelling on Unite For Sight projects who re-use spectacles for their individual projects.

Every year over 300,000 pairs of spectacles are sent to Medico France. Indeed, donations by UK Lions Clubs, recycled through Chichester, account for more than half of the total number of the spectacles processed by Medico France.

Morley & District Lions Club have several drop-off locations throughout the district for people to dispose of their unwanted and damaged spectacles. Special thanks to the following shops and surgeries who kindly collect for us.

​

Lions Spectacle Drop-Off Points:

​

Drighlington Health Centre

Station Road, Drighlington, Bradford, BD11 1JU

Tel: 0113 2956888

​

Gildersome Health Centre

Finkle Lane, Gildersome, Leeds, LS27 7HL

Tel: 0113 2535134

​

Gill Opticians

3 Market Place, Dewsbury, WF13 1AU

Tel: 01924 462036

​

Leigh View Medical Centre

Bradford Road, Tingley, Wakefield, WF3 1RQ

Tel: 0113 2537628

​

Middleton Health Centre

Middleton Park Avenue, Middleton, Leeds, LS10 4HT

Tel: 0113 2077000

​

Morley Health Centre

Cooperation Street, Morley, Leeds, LS27 9HB

Tel: 0113 8432500

​

WF3 Kindness

Thirlmere Drive, Tingley, Wakefield, WF3 1PU

Tel: 0800 8611456

​

Whaley Opticians

57 Commercial Street, Batley, WF17 5EP

Tel: 01924 472486
 

Our Other Projects:

Our Other Projects:

Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF)

The Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) helps improve people's lives around the world, from combating vision problems to responding to catastrophes to providing valuable life skills to youth. 

Message in a Bottle

The Message in a Bottle scheme is designed to encourage people to keep their basic personal and medical details on a form and in a common location that emergency services can locate quickly and easily.

WF3 Kindness

A local project within our district supporting WF3 Kindness which was set up to provide practical help and support to people living or working in Tingley, Ardsley and Thorpe.