Re-Cycle for Sight

Lions Recycle for Sight Australia Inc.

Lions Recycle for Sight Australia Inc is part of the Lions Clubs International Worldwide Eyeglass Recycling Programme, headquartered in Queensland and operating throughout Australia and overseas.

It has involved the collection of thousands of pairs of used spectacles, sunglasses, new frames and other ancillary equipment. On the distribution side the programme distributes thousands of pairs of regraded spectacles throughout the world (other than Central America) to Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs, Humanitarian organisations for distribution to poor people in need at no expense or obligation on the recipient.

A new development for us has been the distribution of sunglasses, not only for adults but primarily so that whenever our regraded spectacles are distributed in a school or village in remotest Africa or Asia, every child, whether they need prescription glasses or not receives a gift from the Lions of Australia. No child misses out.

Over the 15 years that the Australian programme has existed, as a two club project, the programme has delivered 2.5 million pair to countries in Africa, Europe, Middle East, Indian Sub continent, East Asia, and the Far East, including China, the countries of the Pacific Rim and Southern Asia and Oceania.

Lions Clubs in Australia are able to obtain collection boxes, labels, pamphlets at no cost through emailing ChairmanR4S@lions.org.au or SecretaryR4S@lions.org.au (Lions Recycle for Sight, PO Box 3021 CLONTARF MDC 4019).

Australia Post is one of our two major sponsors and has provided a Reply Paid facility so that Lions Clubs can post their collected spectacles and sunglasses (without cases or loose lens), preferably in Lions Christmas Cake Cartons , without cost. Clubs need to contact us to obtain the post free details.

Please add in the corner

Lions Club of ......................

Email address (if any).....................

Address... PO Box..... Etc

The spectacles are sorted, cleaned and regraded in one of our three four depots before being labelled and prepared for dispatch in graded groups. Our workforce is provided by persons on Community Service Orders, trainees under Work for the Dole, persons with Mutual Obligation requirements and volunteers generally. We operate five mornings a week with supervision provided by Lions members of the programme. Our facilities are provided at peppercorn rates by the City of Redcliffe, the Police Citizen Youth Welfare Centre (Caboolture) and by Queensland.

We received our first lensometer in 2000 and today we have 13 lensometer machines and 2 ultrasound cleaning machines capable of cleaning 50 pair of spectacles at a time. Further equipment will be sought as needed and to expand into spectacle making.

Our primary Centre is at Redcliffe where we have 6 lensometer machines, operate 5 days a week with workers on Community Service Orders, Work for the Dole and/or under mutual obligation for welfare support. We also have a small number of intellectually challenged persons on our work force.

Our Caboolture Centre, in the PCYC at Toovey Road Caboolture has operated since August 2006 and has been officially opened on 28 March 2007. The Centre currently operates three days a week, primarily with Community Service workers. It has three lensometers and hopefully we can purchase an ultrasound machine for this Centre in the near future.

We also have two Centres within Correctional Institutions. The Helena Jones Half Way House (for women reintegrating into the Community) and Numinbah Women's Correctional Institution. Both of these Centres are manned by residents and are supervised by longer term residents (selected by management). These Centres generally operate on most days of the week and each Centre is contributing 50,000 pair of graded spectacles per annum. The Centres have two lensometer machines each and wash/clean the glasses manually.

Clearly, whilst we have added 6 lensometer machines in the past few months, there is still a need for at least a further 5 machines plus an ultrasound machine for Numinbah at a cost of $4600 for lensometer and $10,000 for ultrasound.

Our target is to reach 500,000 pair a year by 2010 and 1 million pair a year by 2015 as part of our commitment to President Jimmy Ross's target for 2021.

Our second major sponsor- Dollar Sweet Mint Company of Melbourne, who recently purchased International Mints Pty Ltd, is providing substantial financial assistance for our overseas programme. Their support will enable us to expand our distribution of graded spectacles and enable us to present an Australian face directly in the field of giving glasses to women, children and men throughout the third world.

The gift of sight, from Lions Clubs in every corner of Australia (and overseas) will be delivered by Australian Lions to the world at large.

The project also acknowledges the great support of the Queensland and Australian Governments through their grant programmes, the Redcliffe and Caboolture Shire Councils for their leasing support, the Police Citizens Youth Welfare League of Queensland for their premises, the Australian Lions Foundation for its support and the Minister for and Department of Correctional Services for their premises, management and persons in custody or on community service orders but mostly to the great Lions and Lioness and Leo Clubs of Australia for collecting and  forwarding the 250,000 pair of glasses, sunglasses and other equipments that are the life blood of the programme.  Thank you. 

Please contact Chairman Lion Ken Leonard 07-32930993, 0418871396, ChairmanR4S@lions.org.au

or Lion Geoff Moor  07-38856160  SecretaryR4S@lions.org.au for any advice.

Our address is PO Box 3021 CLONTARF MDC 4019.

Ken Leonard Chairman/CEO