SPEKTREK
Have you any old spectacles or hearing aids?
On behalf of the Lions Club of Bridport I would like to thank all of the people who donated prescription glasses , hearing aids and mobile phones to our Speck-trek 2015 campaign this year. We collected 1560 glasses - a record for Bridport - and they are now on their way to being sorted and graded before reaching their final destination in eye care centres in Africa and Asia. Donating used glasses is a very easy way for us to make an impact on the lives of people who do not have access to the eyecare we are used to in the Western World. For many of the recipients it is clearer vision for possibly the first time in their lives. During the next twelve months I would like to challenge the people of Bridport to donate over 2000 pairs of specs. This would be an amazing and worthwhile achievement. You can take your unwanted spectacles now to Specsavers Opticians, Scrivens Opticians and I J Brown Opticians, as well as Bridport Primary School and Bridport CAB. Thank you in advance.
All 63 Lions Clubs in our district collect spectacles and hearing aids from the public for re-cycling in third world countries. Once a year Petersfield Lions Club send vans around in our district in April to collect from clubs
So if you have any please bring them along to one of our events if you click for our Calendar you can see when we are next out fundraising - CALENDAR
So what happens to the specs after collection from our clubs? The Midhurst Lions have a regular sorting and packing session (weekly, I believe). They go through the specs discarding the junk, breakages etc. Where gold is present in the frames, they arrange for its extraction to raise money for sight-related charities both at home and abroad. Midhurst also have a regular cases and sunglasses stall at the local community centre. The repacked specs are passed on to Chichester Lions.
Chichester Lions store the packages and arrange their shipment across the channel to Le Havre to the charity "Medico France". This charity, which was set up by Lions Clubs in France, then grades the specs and prepares them for the last leg of their journey to sight projects in Africa and Asia. There is a good relationship between Lions in France and Chichester and they visit several times a year to pick up sorted specs for delivery to Le Havre. Some are also taken free of charge by Fraser Freight, a haulage company based in Portsmouth. Although no grading takes place in Chichester, some of the rough sorted specs are sent to a prison just outside Durham where prisoners grade them with equipment donated to them and then these specs are sent to France in the normal way. For further details of the process, please log onto www.chilions.org.uk
Spectrek is an exhausting day which is itself the culmination of a year's work by Lions Clubs all over central southern England. But when one looks at the outcome it is one of the most rewarding things we do. In these days of green issues the Lions spectacle collection project is more than recycling; it is reuse of a costly asset. We have collected over 2.8 million pairs of specs over the last 33 years; how much would they cost at today's prices? £50 million? £100 million? And, most important of all, the collection brings hope to many families in the developing world who have been blighted by loss of sight."
SIGHTWEEK
The Bridport Lions Sight Awareness Day in Bucky Doo Square was a huge success and we were able to draw attention to the need for regular eye tests, appreciate the good work done by Dogs for the Blind and the Dorset Blind Association and also publicise our recycling spectacles campaign.
The Mayoress has now booked a long overdue sight test after learning from Trudi Loud of I J Brown Opticians how important it is to have our sight tested regularly. Both the mayor and mayoress visited Browns Opticians in Bridport and were given an interesting and very informative talk on the different ways in which people's sight can deteriorate and how early diagnosis through eye testing can be extremely beneficial. They spent the rest of the morning experiencing the everyday difficulties that face people with limited or no sight at all. The couple took turns to be led blindfolded through Bridport with a Guide Dog and a mobility instructor. After finding out what services the library offers and visiting Scrivens Opticians and Frosts to hand out collecting bins for old spectacles for recycling they then ordered and drank coffee at Jaxsons Deli, again blindfolded. At Specsavers the staff organised a fundraising morning and the Lions were presented with a cheque for £100.
Many thanks go to the following people for their help and support: I J Brown opticians; Jaxsons Deli; Guide Dogs for the Blind; Dorset Blind Association; Bridport Town Library; Specsavers; Frosts; Scrivens opticians, Jane Silver – the Town Crier and last but certainly not least the Bridport Mayor and Mayoress for willingly participating in all the events with or without a blindfold!
Have you any old spectacles or hearing aids?
On behalf of the Lions Club of Bridport I would like to thank all of the people who donated prescription glasses , hearing aids and mobile phones to our Speck-trek 2015 campaign this year. We collected 1560 glasses - a record for Bridport - and they are now on their way to being sorted and graded before reaching their final destination in eye care centres in Africa and Asia. Donating used glasses is a very easy way for us to make an impact on the lives of people who do not have access to the eyecare we are used to in the Western World. For many of the recipients it is clearer vision for possibly the first time in their lives. During the next twelve months I would like to challenge the people of Bridport to donate over 2000 pairs of specs. This would be an amazing and worthwhile achievement. You can take your unwanted spectacles now to Specsavers Opticians, Scrivens Opticians and I J Brown Opticians, as well as Bridport Primary School and Bridport CAB. Thank you in advance.
All 63 Lions Clubs in our district collect spectacles and hearing aids from the public for re-cycling in third world countries. Once a year Petersfield Lions Club send vans around in our district in April to collect from clubs
So if you have any please bring them along to one of our events if you click for our Calendar you can see when we are next out fundraising - CALENDAR
So what happens to the specs after collection from our clubs? The Midhurst Lions have a regular sorting and packing session (weekly, I believe). They go through the specs discarding the junk, breakages etc. Where gold is present in the frames, they arrange for its extraction to raise money for sight-related charities both at home and abroad. Midhurst also have a regular cases and sunglasses stall at the local community centre. The repacked specs are passed on to Chichester Lions.
Chichester Lions store the packages and arrange their shipment across the channel to Le Havre to the charity "Medico France". This charity, which was set up by Lions Clubs in France, then grades the specs and prepares them for the last leg of their journey to sight projects in Africa and Asia. There is a good relationship between Lions in France and Chichester and they visit several times a year to pick up sorted specs for delivery to Le Havre. Some are also taken free of charge by Fraser Freight, a haulage company based in Portsmouth. Although no grading takes place in Chichester, some of the rough sorted specs are sent to a prison just outside Durham where prisoners grade them with equipment donated to them and then these specs are sent to France in the normal way. For further details of the process, please log onto www.chilions.org.uk
Spectrek is an exhausting day which is itself the culmination of a year's work by Lions Clubs all over central southern England. But when one looks at the outcome it is one of the most rewarding things we do. In these days of green issues the Lions spectacle collection project is more than recycling; it is reuse of a costly asset. We have collected over 2.8 million pairs of specs over the last 33 years; how much would they cost at today's prices? £50 million? £100 million? And, most important of all, the collection brings hope to many families in the developing world who have been blighted by loss of sight."
SIGHTWEEK
The Bridport Lions Sight Awareness Day in Bucky Doo Square was a huge success and we were able to draw attention to the need for regular eye tests, appreciate the good work done by Dogs for the Blind and the Dorset Blind Association and also publicise our recycling spectacles campaign.
The Mayoress has now booked a long overdue sight test after learning from Trudi Loud of I J Brown Opticians how important it is to have our sight tested regularly. Both the mayor and mayoress visited Browns Opticians in Bridport and were given an interesting and very informative talk on the different ways in which people's sight can deteriorate and how early diagnosis through eye testing can be extremely beneficial. They spent the rest of the morning experiencing the everyday difficulties that face people with limited or no sight at all. The couple took turns to be led blindfolded through Bridport with a Guide Dog and a mobility instructor. After finding out what services the library offers and visiting Scrivens Opticians and Frosts to hand out collecting bins for old spectacles for recycling they then ordered and drank coffee at Jaxsons Deli, again blindfolded. At Specsavers the staff organised a fundraising morning and the Lions were presented with a cheque for £100.
Many thanks go to the following people for their help and support: I J Brown opticians; Jaxsons Deli; Guide Dogs for the Blind; Dorset Blind Association; Bridport Town Library; Specsavers; Frosts; Scrivens opticians, Jane Silver – the Town Crier and last but certainly not least the Bridport Mayor and Mayoress for willingly participating in all the events with or without a blindfold!