New Members Wanted
Remember, guests are welcome as the Membership Contest goes through December 2009 with Membership Chair Lion David Coates tracking the progress of the teams. We are looking for new members to share our meetings and activities. We invite you to join us. Questions? Please call Bill Kalina at 952-941-0109.
Places to take your old eyeglasses for re-distribution to the needy:
LIONS EYE GLASS P/U LOCATIONS
1. Bloomington Community Center 98th and Penn Ave S.
2. St. Edwards Church, 94th and Nesbitt Ave S. Bloomington
3. United Methodist Church 8800 Portland Ave S., 888-6070
4. Gill Bros Funeral Home 99th and Lyndale Ave S.
5. Werness Bros Funeral Home Penn Ave and Old Shakopee Road
6. Good Year Store, Valley West Shopping Center
7. K of C Hall American Blvd and Dupont Ave S.
8. Pull tab Booth at David Fong's 94th and Lyndale Ave S.
Fellow Lions,
I finally got back to my duties as Eye Glass Chair, after a number of months of work- related travel. I just finished sorting all the recent donations, (removing glasses from cases, sorting bad glasses, etc). This job is much bigger than I realized.
I really want to thank Lions Harold and Marcy Anderson, who were the previous Eyeglass Chairs, for all their hard work. I can really appreciate their years of service in this capacity. I also want to thank Lion Tom Cady; he really did a great job of picking up glasses in my absence. Also, I would like to thank all the Lions who picked up glasses for the club during the year.
The collection I just finished sorting is 566 pair of glasses. I took a whopping 993 pair to the district chair in June. Last November we sent 780 pair. So, the total for the past year is 2,339.
Lion Mike Gallagher
Bloomington Lions Hearing and Sight Chair
The following excerpt from the Lions International website illustrates the impact of our eyeglass recycling. Lions host 17 Eyeglass Recycling Centers around the world. Our donated glasses are processed at the center in Rosholt, Wisconsin.
153 Million Reasons Lions Recycle for Sight
According to The World Health Organization, 153 million people have uncorrected refractive errors (near-sightedness, far-sightedness or astigmatism). Most of these vision impairments are quickly diagnosed and easy to treat with corrective lenses.
Still, millions of people in developing nations are pushed deeper into poverty simply because they don't have glasses. They can't learn, because reading is difficult. They can't work to the best of their ability, because they can't see clearly.
It costs Lions less than US $0.08 to provide a pair of recycled eyeglasses and change someone's life.
For children, clear vision means a better education, healthier development and a better quality of life. For adults, it means greater employment opportunity and economic strength. For seniors it means less dependence on others.
Lions clubs collect millions of eyeglasses each year, making eyeglass recycling one of our most popular activities
Lions are an international network of 1.3 million men and women in 205 countries and geographic areas who work together to answer the needs that challenge communities around the world.
