UK Advanced Eye Care hosting Re-Spectacle eyeglasses donation drive Aug. 28
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 22, 2024) - The UK Advanced Eye Care Optical Shop will host its third Re-Spectacle eyeglasses donation drive on Aug. 28.
Community members are invited to drop off their used eyeglasses at one of the Lexington UK Advanced Eye Care Optical Shop locations: Inside Shriners Hospital (110 Conn Terrace) or at UK HealthCare-Turfland (2195 Harrodsburg Road). In previous years, UK Advanced Eye Care has collected more than 500 pairs of eyeglasses for the Lexington Lions Club, which provides free eyeglasses to those in need. UK Optical Shop partnered with the Lexington Lions Club to spread awareness about the recycling of spectacles. Community members utilized a drive-thru station to donate used glasses.
The Lexington Lions Club provides the community a wide range of direct services. In the last decade, it has contributed more than $1.25 million to programs that assist the blind and visually impaired, deaf and hard of hearing and diabetics through vision and hearing screenings. The Lions Club also funds a retreat for the deaf-blind, a camp for diabetic children and eye surgeries for those in need.
The Lions help purchase new glasses and send the used glasses to collection centers to be sorted, cleaned, and repaired. Lexington Lions send their collections to the Upland, Indiana, center, which has redistributed 33 million pairs of glasses to date.
The Lexington Lions Club and UK Advanced Eye Care have a strong partnership. There are glasses donation receptacles at each optical shop location, and UK Advanced Eye Care is working to partner with the Lions Club on various events and projects.
“We are proud of the collaboration between UK HealthCare and the Lexington Lions Club, as we both believe in providing quality vision services to all,” said Megan Chestnut, optical shop manager and organizer of the event. “The ReSpectacle Event is a great way for the community to give back by recycling their old glasses. The Lions Club offers these recycled and refurbished glasses to underserved communities around the globe. We are delighted to host this event and look forward to future collaborations.”
Whether you plan to donate your old frames or just want a summer upgrade, visit one of the convenient Optical Shop locations, which has a great selection of the latest styles of frames for every budget.
“We provide excellent customer service and complimentary adjustments and repairs on pieces sold in our shops," said Andrew Pearson, M.D., chair of opthalmology and UK HealthCare. "It is our goal to provide eyewear that patients can be proud of while they go about everyday life.”
UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns, the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and Kentucky’s top hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what’s medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the health care landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. UK HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come.