Vision care may no longer be something people view as a luxury. A tractor-trailer loaded with used eyeglasses, sunglasses, and prescription eyeglasses was recently shipped by the 55 Lions Clubs of Western New York for Luxottica's "Gift of Sight" and the Lions Clubs "Fight for Sight" programs. Drop boxes are located through-out the area for people to drop off eye glasses they no longer want or need.

The Luxottica promotion will fix, cleanse, sanitize, and grade the frames with lenses and then distribute eyewear to people all over the world who cannot afford corrective eyeglass frames and to people who do not have access to eyeglasses. Many of the eyeglasses that were collected will go to places in Central America, South America, and the Carribean.

It is estimated that over 100,000 pairs of used eyeglasses that were collected this year were shipped to the Port Washington plant to be redistributed for charity. After being computer catalogued, the glasses are packaged for shipment and sent off to the far corners of the world. Helping to collaborate with the delivery of the eye glasses were the Southside Trailer Service and the Yellow Freight Corporation.

Around the world, millions of people in under-developed countries go without the ability to see due to lack of proper health-care and lack of funds to pay for new eyeglasses. On occasion, doctors and opticians volunteer to travel to far off places in the world to provide free eye exams to people who previously did not have access to doctors. Many of them personally distribute the eye glasses as well.

Quite a few of the people receiving the glasses are unable to attend school and can barely read a book. Many have problems seeing their own children - so vision care becomes a luxury for most of them- not a necessity.The sight program was officially adopted in 1994 by the Lions Clubs but Lions have been collecting eyeglasses for donation for more than 80 years.

Along with the sight programs, the Lions Clubs also initiated the SightFirst grant program which helps fight preventable and reversible blindness through building clinics and hospitals and the training of doctors, nurses and various other healthcare workers. It also distributes medicine and raises awareness of various eye diseases. The SightFirst program helps elimiate diseases like glaucoma, catarac, river blindness, and trachoma in places all over the world but especially in the United States - a developed country. Vision problems, especially in children, can lead to learning disabilities, delayed development, and, in some cases, juvenile delinquency. Senior citizens with vision problems or vision loss are left feeling out of control and unable to function in daily life.

Collection boxes for eyeglasses are located through-out Western New York but some of the more stand-out locations are: Brocton Village Hall, Clark & Whipple Law Offices, Community Bank on Vinyard Drive and downtown Dunkirk, Grandma's Kitchen, HSBC Bank, Inner Lakes Federal Credit Union, Lake Shore Savings, Key Bank, M&T in Fredonia, Quality Market in D&F Plaza, Wal-Mart, and Tops Pharmacy.