A West Bridgford opticians is calling on the local community to help with their specs appeal – asking people to donate their old or unwanted glasses to help those in need.
Specsavers on Central Avenue is working in collaboration with a local volunteer organisation, Nottingham West Lions Club to help support those with vision needs in the developing world and with more local sight related projects.
‘In today’s environment re-using or recycling is more important than ever, and so we were keen to see what options there were for old specs,’ comments Specsavers West Bridgford store director Stephen Rogers.
‘The work that the Lions Club do to sort, grade, recycle and ship specs to those that need them is fantastic, especially as they rely on volunteers to manage much of the process.’
Collected specs are taken to a workshop in Chichester where they are sorted by a team of Lions and other volunteers from Chichester Lions Club. Once sorted, specs are then graded by Medico France in Le Havre before they are shipped to eye clinics in the developing world, examples include Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Nigeria, and Nepal.
‘Rest assured nothing is wasted,’ adds Past District Governor, Lion Gurcharan Singh Manku of Nottingham West Lions Club.
‘Materials from specs that are unsuitable for recycling are used to raise funds for the project and funds are also used to support other sight related research and charitable projects around the world.
Anyone who has a pair of old or unwanted specs can simply drop them off in store at 25 – 27 Central Avenue, West Bridgford.
In line with guidance from the NHS, Specsavers is keeping safety measures in place, including the wearing of face coverings, unless there is a medical exemption.
This includes maintaining social distancing in stores, continuing to use PPE and sanitising all testing equipment and frames before and after each use.
Doors will be kept open whenever possible to improve ventilation and although card payments are still preferred, cash payments will be accepted too.
Specsavers will also continue to operate its Ask The Expert chat function on its website and its RemoteCare service, which enable customers to speak to an expert from the comfort of their home via video call or phone.
For more information or to book a sight or hearing test, call Specsavers West Bridgford on 01159 694830 or go to https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/westbridgford
