Buchanan-Galien Lions Club 11-B2 Great Eyeglass Challenge Recap
Written by Mark Tumbleson, Submitted by Jerry Flenar
The second half of our annual Great Eyeglass Collection was hosted by the Buchanan-Galien Lions Club on Saturday March 18th, 2023 as part of the 11-B2 District Convention.
A mid-year Great Eyeglass Collection had been hosted by the Buchanan-Galien Lions Club on Monday November 14th, 2022 as part of the 11-B2 Projects Night event.
The twice a year collection was held at the request of the Grand Rapids eyeglass recycling crew to avoid burying them in glasses with our previous annual spring only event.
The Annual Eyeglass Challenge is held every year with District 11-B2 Lions Clubs collecting, sorting, counting, and bringing their collection to the event where certificates are presented to winning clubs.
Hearing aids are also now collected for repair and redistribution.
The end of year collection began at 7:30 a.m. and by 10:30 a.m. the last of the days collection of glasses and cases had been strategically loaded into the trailer and vehicle that were transporting them to Grand Rapids- the used glasses next step in reaching third world countries.
Buchanan-Galien Lions Mark Nixon and Mark Tumbleson hosted the event and welcomed all who brought in their community’s collection.
As always, there were stories shared, fellowship enjoyed and questions answered about how the glasses are handled after they leave the district.
The Great Eyeglass Challenge was started 31 years ago by the Galien Lions Club.
The total glasses collected in the 30 years prior was 664,794.
Fifteen clubs brought glasses to the mid-year Project Nights (14,837 pair) event and nine clubs brought glasses to the end of year event (15,114 pair) for an annual total of 29,951 pair.
Total count of glasses collected over the 31-year history: 694,745.
Clubs participating this year were: Benton Harbor Fairplain, Buchanan-Galien, Centreville, Coloma, Colon, Dowagiac, Edwardsburg, Kalamazoo West Side, Kalhaven Trail, Paw Paw, Portage, Saint Joseph City, Saint Joseph Township, Sister Lakes, Sturgis, Three Rivers, and Vicksburg.
2023 Annual Great Eyeglass Challenge Winners for the year:
First Place – KING OF THE JUNGLE – Kalamazoo West Side: 7,029 collected
Second Place – MAKING THE LEAP – Saint Joseph City: 3,607 collected
Third Place – LYING IN WAIT – Portage: 3,537 collected
Congratulations to our club winners – but the real winners are the third world people who will benefit from our serving!
“We Serve” is our motto – 87+ years strong – and proud to serve in the 2020 Nicest City in America – Buchanan, MI!
About Buchanan-Galien Lions Club: Buchanan-Galien Lion’s Club has been serving the community for more than 75 years. We meet the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at the Buchanan American Legion Hall – to learn more about becoming a Lion, contact us. Lions are men and women who volunteer their time to humanitarian causes. Lions extend their commitment beyond sight conservation through countless local efforts that include youth outreach programs, improving the environment, building homes for the disabled, and, through their foundation, provide disaster relief around the world.
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