Recycling spectacles and hearing aids
Just drop redundant spectacles and hearing aids in Abingdon at Specsavers, Boots Opticians, the Abingdon Eye Centre, the Town Council offices on Bridge Street and Ideal Eyes in Botley, Summertown, and Cowley
Spectacles
We collect old spectacles, it doesn't matter how old or unfashionable they are.
Lions Clubs throughout the UK collect unwanted and damaged spectacles. These are then sent to Chichester Lions Club or our National Headquarters in Birmingham 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 workshops.
Glasses sorted in Chichester are sent to the Lions facility called Medico France in Le Havre. From the centre in Le Havre glasses are resorted and graded and shipped to many countries around the world, such as Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Nigeria and Nepal.
Our Birmingham operation works with a variety of other charities using existing shipping routes to get glasses to those in need. We have worked with The National Police aid Charity, with various Lions Clubs in Ghana and The Gambia, and other Charities working in Nigeria, Kenya and The Philippines.
Hearing Aids
In the UK, one in six people are affected by hearing loss. Deafness is the country's second-largest disability. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2050 over 900 million people globally will experience disabling hearing loss. Here's how Lions Clubs throughout the British Isles can get involved:
Collect used hearing equipment
Lions Clubs collect unwanted, or broken, analogue and digital hearing aids and audiological equipment from individuals, audiologists, hearing retail outlets, and hospitals. Since May 2015, Lions have collected almost 90,000 hearing aids and ancillary items. Note that we do not need the boxes and batteries associated with the equipment.
We send donated equipment to Dr Michael Nolan formerly of the Starkey Hearing Foundation for sorting and refurbishment of the equipment.
Adults and children with hearing impairment whose lives have been transformed after receiving recycled hearing equipment live in countries including: Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Lesotho, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zanzibar, Madagascar, Ukraine, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, Philippines and Papua New Guinea
