VOSH Mission in Panama

Do you ever wonder what happens to your old glasses if you donate them?

Last month, Stephanie, our optician, was able to find out.  She joined the Minnesota VOSH team on a humanitarian mission down in Panama.  For ten days, they saw people from the local community.  The eye docs that joined the mission did eye exams and wrote prescriptions.  Then it was Stephanie's turn to take those prescriptions and find a pair of donated glasses that were close.  The Lion's Club had meticulously cataloged all of the glasses, putting them in bags with the prescriptions on the outside.  Each person left the clinic with a pair of glasses, helping them see what they hadn't been able to before.

This mission is similar to several that I have been on with the Colorado National Guard.  We are there to help others, but I always walk away feeling as though they helped me instead.  The feeling of fulfillment that you get being able to help someone see again, or to read again when they couldn't do that before, makes you realize how fortunate we are to live where we live and to have what we have. 

Next time you find an old pair of glasses, don't toss them out.  Bring them on in and let us donate them to the Lion's Club so they can find their way onto a mission like this!