Give Your Old Specs A New Life

Poverty and a shortage of skilled opticians affect millions of people who do not have the spectacles they desperately need. For those in the developing world poor vision can keep education and employment out of reach. Many find daily living difficult and dangerous. Receiving a pair of specs can transform their lives – with the correct spectacles, people can learn, work and achieve a quality of life otherwise completely unobtainable.

Started in 1985, Vision Aid Overseas has provided 600,000 eye tests and given 300,000 people the ability to see with a pair of spectacles.

Donate your old pairs of glasses by dropping them in at your local opticians (as long as they support VAO – you might have to ring first and ask). Any Vision Express or KODAK Lens Vision Centre will also accept them. From here they are sorted, and then sent to UK prisons where prisoners have been trained to clean, grade and pack the spectacles ready for their use in the developing world. (Broken/damaged spectacles and bifocals/varifocals cannot be accepted.)

So if the only role your old specs are playing is to clutter up your home, turn them into a little miracle… send them on a one-way trip to transform someone’s life

For more information, see here

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Discuss

  1. chocolategirl chocolategirl
    13 Jun 2008

    Have been doing this for a few years since the death of my grandma, the optician is always delighted when I walk in and its great to know we are helping others and no more random specs cluttering up my house! M x

  2. Veronica Zundel Veronica Zundel
    19 Jul 2008

    Ooh, I think I can do this! I’m sure I have some old specs in a drawer. Does it matter if they are broken, so long as I send all the parts?

  3. kathb kathb
    london, GB , 08 Nov 2008

    funny this is the first action i have found – have had loads of specs in a drawer and have just found where i can take them ,which is near my dentist – and have appt there tues

  4. Andrew F Andrew F
    Stroud, GB , 10 Nov 2008

    Veronica, If you look at the listing it says: (Broken/damaged spectacles and bifocals/varifocals cannot be accepted.).
    This is why I can not commit to this action – all my old specs frames are knackered – otherwise I would still be using them!
    For future ref though (on the off-chance that I DO manage not to break the frame!) do the lenses have to be free from scratches as well?