Drop your old Glasses into Gordons Chemists to support Lions Club appeal

Every home in the district has a drawer containing old spectacles collected over the years. As part of an ongoing appeal by Banbridge Lions Club people can now drop their unwanted spectacles into a collection bin at the Gordons Chemists store in Newry. Bins are also available at participating stores in Rathfriland, Banbridge, Craigavon and Lurgan.

The collection gives people a way to pass on glasses they no longer use, helping support access to suitable eyewear for communities overseas where eye care can be difficult to obtain. Banbridge Lions Club collects the donations from the bins for onward processing through the Lions spectacle recycling programme.

Lions Club member Marie Wilson said: “We’re grateful to Gordons Chemists for providing collection points, and to everyone who has donated their unwanted spectacles. These partnerships make it easy for people to support the appeal and help us collect more glasses for communities around the world where access to eye care is limited. If you have glasses you no longer use, please consider dropping them into a collection bin at a participating store.”

Donations can include prescription glasses, reading glasses, prescription sunglasses and children’s spectacles. Customers with questions about other eyewear or cases should speak to the team at their participating store.

Donated glasses are sorted, cleaned and assessed, with suitable pairs prepared for distribution through humanitarian projects. The initiative also helps reduce waste by giving usable spectacles a second life. Better access to suitable glasses can support children’s learning, help adults with work and everyday tasks, and enable older people to maintain their independence.

Richard Allen, Marketing Manager, Gordons Chemists, said: “We’re delighted to support this initiative, and the response from our customers donating their old spectacles in-store has been wonderful. It’s encouraging to know that something sitting unused in a drawer could help someone else see more clearly.”

Banbridge Lions Club is encouraging anyone with unwanted spectacles at home to consider donating them during their next visit to a participating store.

Gordons Chemists was founded in 1980 by brothers Neil and Robert Gordon and is Northern Ireland’s largest independently owned pharmacy chain, with 55 stores in Northern Ireland. Its headquarters are in Banbridge.