Did you know? Various excellent charities exist for collecting used prescription eyeglasses and donating them to the poor in other countries, who otherwise might not be able to afford them.

Sara Schairer, however, had the brilliant idea of collecting and donating used sunglasses. She visited the Flying Samaritans eye clinic in Tecate, Mexico, and was impressed that the diseases we treat surgically, cataracts and pterygia, were caused, at least in part, by sun exposure. She noticed that none of our patients were wearing sunglasses! 

The clinic distributes dozens of prescription eyeglasses each month, but no one had thought of distributing sunglasses.

Sara singlehanded started an organization, Sunglasses For The Masses, to coordinate collection and distribution of “gently used” sunglasses.

Last weekend Sara came to Tecate and distributed 40 pairs of sunglasses. What a great start!

Did you also know? Visit Sara’s website, Sunglasses For The Masses, to learn how you can donate your old sunglasses, and how you can help spread this wonderful idea. And if you ever think that one person cannot make a difference, think again!