Virginia Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center
501 Elm Avenue, SW, PO Box 1772
Roanoke, VA 24008

     Contact: Lion Merle Hash, Acting Director
     Telephone: (540) 345-8823
     Fax: (540) 982-8195
     E-mail: roaleri@verizon.net
     Web site: www.valions.org/recycle/roanoke.html

Satellite office:
   Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center of Northern Virginia
   212 North West Street
   Falls Church, VA 22046
        Telephone:/ Fax: 703-241-7004
        E-mail: lionseyeglassrecyclingctr@netzero.net
        Web site:  http://members.cox.net/lerc

       Contacts:  Lion Charles Mandelbaum, Chief Operating Officer
                         E-mail: c.mandelbaum@cox.net

                         Past District Governor Clark Erickson
                         E-mail: cferickson@starpower.net

                         Lion John Ferguson, Clinics and Special Projects

Satellite office:

Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center of Eastern Virginia
4205 W. Mercury Boulevard
Hampton, VA  23666
Telephone:  757-825-3399

Contact:  Lion Doyle Eckert, Director of Operations
E-mail: deckert6@verizon.net                                                                                                          

The Virginia Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center provides used eyeglasses to various missions sponsored by Lions and other groups.

Used eyeglasses have been shipped to Honduras, Guyana, Peru, Ukraine, Guatemala, Brazil, Thailand, Romania, Haiti, Brazil, Nicaragua, Malawi, Dominican Republic, St. Croix, Puerto Rico, Israel, the Republic of Congo, and Ecuador.  The center has also sent glasses to the Republic of Sri Lanka and Mexico for use in their permanent distribution centers.  In addition, the center partners with local organizations to conduct international health fairs and expeditions.  The center received a donation of approximately 264,000 pairs of sunglasses (worth US$2 million) from Gifts-In-Kind International.

In the past, the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center of Northern Virginia coordinated the "Helping the World to See" program.  The center worked with United Airlines, the Sterling Lions, and 45 public schools to collect eyeglasses for one month. The donated eyeglasses were cleaned, categorized by prescription, packaged, and shipped via United Airlines to Thailand. A doctor in Bangkok distributed the used eyeglasses to children and adults.

There is another satellite, the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center of Eastern Virginia.