Elizabeth Hendrickson/MDN Jacob Thrailkill, Minot Lions Club president, left, and Barb Hankla, membership chair, right, pick up donated eyeglasses at the Sterling Optical drop off location in Minot.

An eyeglasses collection effort started as a club activity for the Minot and Magic City Lions Club, along with others, has grown into a nationwide effort to provide eyewear to the blind and visually impaired.

As the largest service club organization with 1.35 million members and 46,000 clubs in 206 countries, the club has grown immensely since it started.

Getting donated eyeglasses ready for the next wearer is a bit of a process, which requires hundreds of volunteers. The process starts with patrons dropping off their used glasses at one of the many drop off locations. Drop off locations in the Minot area include:

– Johnson Eyecare and Eyewear

– Parker Senior Center

– Sterling Optical

– Walmart Optical

– Town and Country Shopping Center

– Optical Outlook

– Eyes on Burdick

– Thomas Family Funeral Home

– Thompson Larson Funeral Home

– Trinity Vision Galleria

Collected glasses are shipped to a Lions Recycling Center. At the recycling center, volunteers clean, sort and determine the prescription strength of the glasses. Glasses are then packaged and stored until they are able to be used in vision screening missions.

At the mission site, volunteers and eye care professionals perform vision screenings and give the appropriate glasses to the person in need. Those in need of glasses also can go to the Lions Club website and fill out an application for assistance.