During the month of November, local Girl Scouts worked to make a difference in the community by collecting eyewear to donate to the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center of Eastern Virginia, an organization that collects, cleans, sorts and distributes eyewear to those in need locally and around the world.

On Saturdays in November, groups of Girl Scouts volunteered their time at the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center of Eastern Virginia in Deep Creek to learn about the cause and contribute to the numerous volunteer hours required to prepare eyewear to be distributed to those in need.

Mary Davis, director of the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center of Eastern Virginia, welcomed each group of Girl Scouts by giving them a tour of the facility and explaining the mission of the Lions Club.

Davis also explained to the girls how the glasses are distributed and who is being helped by their efforts. Davis talked about how the glasses are given out locally, such as through monthly visits of the Sight and Hearing Van in the Park Place neighborhood of Norfolk, and globally through mission trips to the Dominican Republic, the Philippines and beyond.

Then, the girls split up into groups and got to work. They worked in groups to sort and clean newly donated eyewear. With the help of Lions Club volunteers Sandy and Doris Carawan, the girls also learned how to use a lensmeter to determine the prescription in a pair of glasses. This step is vital to helping volunteer doctors ensure that they are giving individuals in need the correct prescription.

Community service has been a cornerstone of Girl Scouting since the organization was founded more than 100 years ago. The eyeglass project gave Girl Scouts the chance to follow through with a project from start to finish — from seeking donations in the community to preparing the items they collected to be distributed to those in need.