THE LIONS CLUB OF BASINGSTOKE
Registered Charity No: 274337
World Sight Day 2023
Thursday, 12th October — 9am-3pm — Central Square, Basingstoke
43 million people in the world are blind
1.2 billion need glasses to see better
World Sight Day, now in its 11th consecutive year, comes once again to a stand in Central Square, Basingstoke – between Primark and Costa – on Thursday, 12th October between 9am – 3pm, courtesy of The Basingstoke Lions Club and offering a display featuring information regarding sight loss and small items of equipment to help the visually impaired with some of the practical aspects of daily living.
As with each year, people are invited to take along their redundant spectacles – prescription, non-prescription and sunglasses – for forwarding to the Lions Club of Chichester who will sort and distribute, e.g. gold rims are sent for melting down for the gold and vintage/designer pairs are sold on Ebay. The remainder are then sent to Medico France in Le Havre who have the necessary equipment to clean and grade the spectacles, ready for use in eye camps in Africa, India and Eastern Europe.
Around 1/1.30pm the Club’s very own “Lennie the Basingstoke Lion” may be spotted ‘on the prowl’, when he drops in on Leightons, Vision Express and Prime Opticians in the Town Centre to collect the haul of spectacles already donated by their own customers.
In addition
… the Lions will mount a spectacle collection point in Morrisons Supermarket from Monday 9th – Sunday 15th October, thus providing an alternative option for those who might find that preferable.
On a global scale, the aim of this day, on which Lions Clubs around the world conduct various sight-related projects, is to focus attention on the universal issue of avoidable blindness and visual impairment and thus raise awareness about the importance of eye health and the need for quality eye care services for all.
A pair of spectacles can make the difference between supporting a family or starving.
If of no use to you, please bring them to us – thank you.
(Note: Please – no spectacle cases)
Contact: av@mypostoffice.co.uk