Blog #19, What are your used
glasses worth?
If
you are Ozzie Osbourne, a good bit apparently. Ozzie's prescription glasses
are being put up for auction and could fetch up
to $5000.
Not bad. How about your glasses? No one is going to give you money for them
when you are done with them, but they could be worth a lot to someone in a
developing country. Medical Missions
International (MMI)
which
is based in Hamilton, Ontario collects used glasses, cleans and sorts them,
then ships them to countries where people need eyecare, such as remote parts of
Ghana or Peru. The glasses are sent with
a team of eyecare professionals and other volunteers who, with help from local
organizers, hold a two-week clinic where they can help thousands of people.
These clinics provide eye exams, corrective glasses, and eye surgeries, and are
exciting and exhausting to participate in.
Not all the stories are dramatic, but there are people who are literally
made to see by being given the right treatment or the needed prescription eye
glasses. For many of the patients,
providing this service just makes it possible for them to have the glasses they
need.
So what are your
old glasses worth? A great deal. MMI has been grounded due to covid 19 since
March like the rest of us, but they are still collecting and sorting and
preparing for the day when travel becomes possible. Burlington Eyecare collects glasses for MMI
and, as part of a 2020 initiative, way back in January (which does seem like a
really long time ago) we committed to donating $20 to MMI for every full pair
of glasses we dispense in the year 2020.
A two-and-a-half month shut-down has not made this as big a help to MMI
as we had hoped, but the year is not finished yet.
So do round up the
used glasses lying around and bring them in, they could be worth a great deal
to someone. The goal is to help everyone
to see 20/20.
Til next week,
The Good Doctor, Dr. Mark Germain, Burlington Optometrist
