PARIS – As fall cleaning gets under way, the Norway/Paris Lions are asking people to look through dresser drawers and closets for used eyeglasses and donate them to the Lions Recycle For Sight Program.

The Norway/Paris Lions Club is collecting used prescription eyeglasses and prescription and nonprescription sunglasses as part of a recycling program. The collected glasses will be cleaned and prepared for distribution in developing countries where eye care is often unaffordable and inaccessible.

“We need everyone to donate their used eyeglasses,” said Earle Thompson, project chairman. “In most developing countries, an eye exam can cost as much as one month’s wages and a single eye doctor may serve a community of hundreds of thousands of people.”

The glasses will be shipped to a regional Lions eyeglass recycling center where they will be cleaned, categorized by prescription and prepared for distribution by Lions and other groups.

To donate used glasses, including sunglasses and reading glasses, place them in one of the specially marked Lions Recycle For Sight collection boxes located at the Oxford Hannaford Supermarket; Pro Vision Center, 177 Main St., South Paris, across from Androscoggin Bank; Dr. Larry Farmer’s office in Norway; or at Oxford Wal-Mart in the Vision Center.

Most recently a total of 900 pairs of eyeglasses were collected from the area.

The Norway/Paris Lions Club has 30 members and meets at 6:30 p.m. on the first and third Monday in the basement of the Deering Memorial United Methodist Church, corner of Main and Church streets, South Paris.

Lions clubs are made up of men and women who identify needs in the community and work together to fulfill those needs. For more information or to get involved with the Norway/Paris Lions Club, contact Club Secretary Carol Williams at 743-7747.