Donate Old Eyeglasses and Sunglasses to New Eyes for the Needy

Have you bought a new pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses lately? Want to donate your old pair to someone who could really use them?

I recently got a new pair of glasses, and I started wondering how I could donate my original pair of glasses that I bought way back in 1998 (previously my back-up pair). So I started trolling around the web and came across New Eyes for the Needy, an organization that collects glasses to distribute to people around the world through partnerships with international organizations. Keeping your glasses out of the landfill and in the hands of someone who needs them is a good, green thing.

Founded by Julia Lawrence Terry in 1932 in Short Hills, NJ, New Eyes for the Needy began as a way to make money to fund eyeglasses for those in need. At the time, glasses were made with gold parts, and the donations were melted down so the gold could be sold as scrap in order to fund vouchers for glasses in the United States.

As eyeglasses stopped using gold, New Eyes for the Needy stopped melting glasses and started taking in monetary donations to provide vouchers for Americans in need of eyeglasses. They continued taking in donations of used glasses to send to international organizations working in Asia, Africa, Central and South America, the Middle East and Europe. Last year they shipped 161,000 pairs of used glasses to people overseas.