Scout gives gift of sight

LISA ADAMS/T.O. Acorn GIVING THE GIFT OF SIGHT - Mallory Farrar, 12, Troop 126 Cadette Girl Scout, left, hands Chris Ines-Solis, LensCrafters gift of sight captain, 56 pairs of used eyeglasses she collected as a part of efforts to achieve her Silver Award.

To fulfill service-project requirements toward achieving her Silver Award, the highest award a Cadette can earn, Mallory Farrar, 12, Troop 126 Cadette Girl Scout, left flyers on neighbors’ doorsteps containing information about the used-eyeglass drive she was undertaking. Farrar had learned about a program sponsored by LensCrafters that recycled the used glasses, and after leaving flyers explaining what she was attempting to accomplish, she then went out knocking on doors to collect as many pairs of eyeglasses as she could.

Farrar then delivered 56 pairs of used eyeglasses to the Moorpark Road LensCrafters office. There, the glasses are cleaned, have their prescriptions read and are catalogued. Following that, LensCrafters and Lions Club volunteers deliver the recycled glasses to people in need.

According to Chris Ines-Solis, local LensCrafters gift of sight captain, the company has buses that go into areas like the inner city of Los Angeles to disperse the glasses.

"We went into the area by the Los Angeles Coliseum not long ago," Ines-Solis said. "We saw a couple of thousand people in only a few hours. Some of the kids were more than 10 years old with very poor sight, and never fitted for glasses. They said things like, ‘That’s what you look like,’ when they glanced at their friends after they had glasses for the first time. This program is really something."

LensCrafters and Lions Club members will be out trick-or-treating tonight for what they’re calling a "spooktacular cause." There’s going to be a lot of "ghouls and boys" going door-to-door to collect even more used eyeglasses for people in developing countries. The Sight Night program collects thousands of pairs of eyeglasses languishing in drawers and boxes, unused, that can provide sight for those that otherwise cannot afford glasses.

So, if a little monster comes to your door and says, "Jeepers, creepers, we need your old peepers!" be ready to give away that old pair of glasses, and you will be giving the gift of sight to someone who needs your help.

If you’d like more information on Sight Night, you can visit www.sightnight.org, or call toll-free 1-877-605-4242.

– Lisa Adams and John Phane contributed to this story.