It can be hard for people to throw away some things they no longer use, particularly if it cost a lot of money and is still in relatively good condition.
That's the dilemma faced by people when they must periodically get a new pair of eyeglasses to accommodate ever-changing prescriptions.
If an individual wants to feel better about disposing of an expensive (and still usable) pair of eyeglasses -- consider donating them for use by those less fortunate in countries around the world.
As part of its mission to provide vision care for those in need, Lions clubs throughout the world collect used eyeglasses. In Defiance, eyeglasses may be given to any Lions member or dropped off in specially marked collection boxes set up in several locations around town.
In the Defiance area, Lions members maintain collection boxes at Chief Market Square, Midwest Community Credit Union (main office only), State Bank (three locations), First Federal (two locations), Northtowne Mall, Defiance Optometric Group and Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Ohio offices. The Defiance Chapter of the American Red Cross will also have a collection box set up at each of its Defiance-area blood drives.
Eyeglasses collected by the Defiance Lions Club are delivered to representatives from Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity-Ohio Chapter.
Recently, Bluffton residents Barbara and Arliss Plaugher gave a presentation to the Defiance Lions Club highlighting an October 2008 mission trip to Romania. The Plaughers are very active in the VOSH eyeglass sorting center in Pandora.
Barbara, a registered nurse, is secretary of VOSH-Ohio, while her husband, Arliss, a retired carpenter and farmer, has accompanied Barbara on more than a dozen mission trips abroad.
The VOSH mission to Romania was hosted by the Rotary of Targoviste with the makeshift eye clinic set up in a local gymnasium. Translation services for the group were provided by local high school students who had studied English for years.
In their four and a half days in Targoviste, the VOSH eyecare professionals processed nearly 3,300 patients, supplying most with prescription eyeglasses and referring more than 100 patients, most with cataracts, to a local opthamology clinic.
Following the Plaughers presentation, Defiance Lions Club member Dr. Tom Sandys followed them back to the Pandora eyeglass sorting center where he dropped off more than 2,000 pairs of eyeglasses collected locally in the past few years.
Any area optometrists or opticians wishing to learn more about VOSH-Ohio's missionary trips may contact Barbara Plaugher at 419 358-9564 or by e-mail at: arliss@wcoil.com