The Ross Medical Education Center campus in Owensboro, Kentucky loves to be involved in their community. Any chance they get, they are working hard to better the lives of their neighbors in need, both near and far. That’s why, from July 10th until August 11th, the students, staff, and faculty at Ross in Owensboro came together to collect gently used eyeglasses for Lions Club International. Campus Director LaTasha Shemwell stated, “In almost every home you can find at least one pair of eyeglasses that are no longer being used.”
Lions Club International was founded in 1917. Since then, they have been working on projects designed to prevent blindness, restore eyesight, and improve eye health and eye care for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. To that end, the Lions Club has a program called “Recycle For Sight.” Throughout the year, the Lions Club and other volunteers collect used eyeglasses and deliver them to regional Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers. Once there, volunteers clean, sort by prescription strength, and then package the glasses. Recycled glasses are distributed to people in need in low and middle income communities where they will have the greatest impact.
At the campus, many of the staff, faculty, and students were delighted to donate unused glasses for this program. It was nice to know that they would be used by someone that would really need and appreciate them. “The students, staff, and faculty were so excited to be part of this worthy cause,” shared LaTasha Shemwell about the event. “Some of them went to local optometrists and received gently used glasses. Others collected old eyeglasses from home or asked family and friends to donate. Our campus goal was to collect at least 500 glasses. We came close and collected 472. The gift of sight is precious and we are so humbled and proud we were able to help.” Nearly 500 people are going to be able to see a lot better this year because of the efforts of the Owensboro campus.