How to Donate Old Prescription Eye Glasses

Share your old glasses with those in need.

Don't discard old, unbroken, out of date prescription glasses sitting in a drawer. Donate them instead. Donated glasses are cleaned, the prescriptions verified and the glasses distributed to people in developing countries or areas where people can't afford glasses. Volunteer eyecare teams take the library of donated glasses to developing countries and distribute them. Eyecare teams provide vision testing, refraction and eye health examination for free. People who need vision correction are given a pair of glasses, at no charge, that match or come very close their prescription.

Things You'll Need

• UNBROKEN, old, no longer needed prescrption glasses. They can be single vision, bifocals, progressives or sunglasses.

Instructions

1. Find an a drop-off location. Lion's Club donations boxes are found by checking lionsclubs.org. Select the "Donate Eyeglasses?" link on the lower right side to find a location near you. Alternately, check OneSight.org and select "Donations," then "Donate Eyeglasses" to find a nearby drop-off spot.

2. Take your unbroken glasses to drop-off location. Both organizations collect the glasses and transfer them to volunteer eyecare teams and organizations that distribute the used glasses.

3. Get a receipt for to declare the donation on your taxes by providing your name and address when you drop off the glasses.

Tips & Warnings

• People in developing countries struggle financially with day to day living and scraping by on next to nothing. They cannot afford eye examinations, let alone a pair of glasses to correct their eyesight. Your old, outdated glasses could give these people back their eyesight. They are always grateful to receive donated glasses.

References

• One Sight: Donate Eyewear
• Lion's Club: How You Can Help