FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, The Record has collected used, but still useable, eyeglasses for an organization called “New Eyes for the Needy.” Readers of our former publisher and co-editor Nancy Ezzell’s Petticoat Patter column were regularly reminded of the service, and urged to bring their glasses by our office—and many responded. Eventually, the stockpile of glasses would begin to overflow the box they were kept in, and we would wrap them all in newspaper for mailing, secure the box with strapping tape, label it and ship it.

I think my mother’s particular dedication to the cause may have had something to do with having six children—most of us avid readers, and all of whom, at some point or another, needed glasses. A new pair of spectacles wasn’t cheap then, and it still isn’t.

The last time Petticoat Patter thanked the generous folks of Canadian for contributing their used glasses to the project was in 2006. To my shame, I’ve only managed to do so once since then—in September 2011, when my staff and I boxed up and shipped 107 pairs of used eyeglasses to New Eyes for the Needy. I promptly acknowledged the generosity of our readers for helping others see more clearly, with a nod toNancy Ezzell for her persistence in prompting those donations.

The local Lions Club has taken up the cause, and like clockwork, Joe Wagoner makes the rounds of collections centers around town to fetch the eyewear and deliver it to what is now the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center. Last time Joe stopped in a couple of weeks ago, I checked the collection box, and found only one pair of glasses there. I knew immediately that I had dropped the ball.

Eleven years later, we still maintain one of several drop-boxes around town for the Lions Club’s Recycle for Sight program. Today, it’s empty. Before Joe comes back, I’d love to have some glasses to give him. So open up your hearts, empty out your drawers, and bring us your old eyeglasses.

My mom would be pleased to know we’ve all helped give someone the precious gift of sight, and honored the philosophy she lived by: “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”

The Lions Club has placed Recycle for Sight collection boxes in several locations around town, including Canadian Eyecare, Wellington State Bank, and Upland Resources. Additional boxes are available upon request by other local businesses.