Collect

Eyeglass collection boxes are set up at vision providers, pharmacies, retirement homes, and stores throughout Oregon. Lions Club volunteers gather and transport those donations to our warehouse in NW Portland. Various other service organizations such as the Elks, Kiwanis, Northwest Medical Teams and Boy Scouts of America partner with us by coordinating their own collection projects and providing them to us for our mission.

Sort

Thanks to our partnership with Central City Concern, local sororities, alumni groups and Lions Clubs, we are able to host these groups to assist in the sorting of the eyeglass donations received. Our volunteers sort out usable eyeglasses to continue their journey in the recycling process.

If you or your group are interested in helping at a sorting, contact Tracy@OLSHF.org See below for more details.

Prepare

Since 2002, OLSHF has partnered with Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) in Wilsonville, OR to process the eyeglass donations. At CCCF, 30 women adults in custody (who have been accepted into the Paraoptometric Training and Eyeglass Recycling Program) clean, calibrate, repair and sort the eyeglasses. The glasses are then categorized and stored back at the warehouse in NW Portland, ready for sight missions.

Supply

Numerous organizations request specific inventories of “mission ready” eyeglasses from our warehouse for their trips. We distribute nearly 120,000 donated eyeglasses each year to sight missions all over the globe including Vietnam, Mexico, Australia, Africa and many other underserved areas of our world. To request glasses for your mission trip, contact Tracy@OLSHF.org!