Lions club’s vision
Shannon LeClair – Times Reporter
In 2003 the Lions Club took over what is now known as the Canadian Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centre, CLERC. Used eyeglasses are collected in various places throughout the country.
Art Eeles, a member of the Strathmore Lions, gathers eyeglasses which are donated to the Lions Club and brings them into Calgary to Bernie Gribben, chair of the program, when he is making a trip into the city.
“People drop them off there, some drop them off at my place,” said Eeles. “I must have taken in a half a dozen bags, since then I’ve taken in another few bags full within the last year.” “We have Lions in Strathmore who collect glasses for us, and the Strathmore Lions club has always been very supportive,” said Gribben.
Gribben, from Calgary, has been a member since 1996 and is the chair of the program. CLERC began as a partnership with Operation Eyesight Universal, the Lions and the Alberta government; the Calgary Correctional Centre. Operation Eyesight is an organization which has been distributing glasses through out the World for close to 40 years.
The organization approached Gribben in 2003 saying they would like to change their focus and wanting to know if the Lions would take over.
“I said ‘ I have no idea but I can bring it to our organization’ and the Lions accepted the proposal on a number of conditions,” said Gribben.
One of the conditions was it must be a Canadian program and not just a Calgary one, and the second was Gribben was to look after it. “I continue after all these years to oversee the program.”
The program collects glasses from coast to coast in Canada and then they are shipped to Calgary. They receive approximately 30,000 pair of glasses each month. Upon arrival in Calgary, Gribben takes the eyeglasses to the Calgary Correctional Centre at Spy Hill. The offenders there, sort, sanitize, hand dry, inspect, repair where necessary and then read for prescription on one of four lensometer’s. Once the prescription has been established, the prescription is attached to a Ziploc bag and the individual glasses go inside; then the glasses are packaged into boxes of 350, according to type. Since 1996, inmates have been volunteering their time to sanitize, inspect and repair them.
Only the Calgary Correctional Centre has a program where the inmates work on the donated glasses, and it helps them learn practical skills, said Davio.
“We then ship those glasses to mission groups in Canada, and they are responsible for taking them overseas and distributing them to needy people,” said Gribben.
They plan to host an open house for all of the people who have helped over the years with CLERC. There were two dates set, either October 13 or the 20. The reason for this is because the Premier and the Justice Minister have been invited, and they are trying to coordinate a date which suits both. The premier is a Lion’s member and that’s one reason why he was invited. Rick Forti from the Calgary Correctional Centre, works closely with Gribben and CLERC, and both men will be heading to Mexico with about 40 other members in November to help distribute the glasses.
CLERC have distributed over two million pair of eyeglasses and are hoping in September they will ship out their three millionth pair. “We will specially mark that pair like we did for our one millionth and two millionth pairs,” said Gribben. “It’s quite a detailed program and we are proud to say we have helped close to three million people.”
The donation boxes are set up in schools, libraries, pharmacies anywhere the club thinks they will be able to receive donations. In Strathmore the boxes are in the drug marts, the hospital and the optometrist, among other places.