Oct 1, 2015 2 min read

It’s that time of year again, when the Lions Club of Waynesburg gets out its white canes and glasses boxes for one of its most visual and eye-catching projects.

In recognition of the International White Cane Safety Day on Oct. 15, the Waynesburg Lions will have two days of fundraising to collect old glasses, accept cash donations and raise awareness.

Anyone who has old glasses to donate can bring them to Giant Eagle in Morrisville today and Walmart on Saturday. The items can be dropped off at the respective locations each day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Lions Club volunteers will be there with their boxes for glasses and will be easy to spot, standing beside the big white canes that they use to draw attention to their cause.

“The glasses will be recycled and the money we raise will all go into eyesight projects,” Lions Club President Dan Moore said. “We have 1.4 million members worldwide and we’re all volunteers. When it comes being a Lion, our motto is We Serve.”

Long white canes are the tools used by the visually impaired to help them navigate in the community with more independence while remaining safe. They also alert the community that the user is either blind or visually impaired.

The World Blind Union, an international organization that represents this population, reports that there are an estimated 285 million people worldwide who are blind or partially sighted.

In 1925, Helen Keller, who had become blind and deaf as a child, raised awareness of the issue at the Lions Clubs International Convention and challenged the young organization to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.”

The challenge was accepted and sight programs aimed at preventable blindness remain a prime focus of Lions everywhere.

In Waynesburg, eyeglasses boxes are permanently placed at First Federal, Community Bank, Greene County Airport and other businesses. When attending public events, Lions volunteers bring boxes with them to better meet their mission.