During this year’s eyeglasses drive, the university community donated 1,270 pairs of eyeglasses. Photo courtesy of the University of Rochester
ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The University of Rochester recently held its annual Eyeglasses Collection event, hosted by the school’s sustainability office. During this year’s drive, the university community donated 1,270 pairs of eyeglasses. The departmental competition accounted for 695 pairs, while 257 pairs were donated through the collection box at the Flaum Eye Institute, and 318 pairs were received through the mail-in program. Since the program began in August 2014, the university has collected 20,401 pairs of glasses, helping improve access to vision care for thousands of people around the world.
This year, 18 departments competed to collect the most glasses and create the most eye-catching box. The “Sampson’s Sight Savers” team from the office of the provost and the office of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs collected the highest number of donations, bringing in 76 pairs of glasses. “Provost Sampson was delighted to participate, and folks all over Wallis Hall contributed to the effort—so the truth is that we won right there,” said business administrator Ann Publow.
This year also marked a new chapter through a partnership with the Lions Club of Chili. Mike Donner of the Lions Club of Chili coordinated the distribution of donated glasses to InterVol, where reusable glasses will be provided to individuals in need around the world. Glasses that are no longer suitable for reuse will be responsibly recycled through ReSpectacle (ReSpecs), ensuring that even unusable eyewear does not end up in landfills. The University’s Batavia Multispecialty Clinic earned recognition for creating this year’s most eye-catching box, featuring a lion-themed design inspired by the Lions Club.
In addition, Karen Cool of Rush Rhees Library Building and Technology Services made eyeglass cases available in the school’s Gleason Library to anyone on campus who needed them. The sustainability office is also donating cases to Rochester Greenovation, whose mission is to help people in Rochester reuse items and keep them out of landfills.
