RestoringVision

About the organization

Business that Supports Missions

Do you want to draw a crowd? Spread joy? Improve lives? Then consider adding reading glasses to your next mission trip.

The great thing about reading glasses is that:

--they are needed by almost everyone over 40, and many people younger.

--they are simple to dispense. People tell you when they have the right power. If your group is made up of professionals, a non-professional spouse or guest will be able to make a big impact running the eye clinic.

--the impact is immediate. You'll see people who thought they could never thread needles, read the Bible or see their grandchildren's faces again put on a pair of glasses and transform their lives. The joy that permeates is felt on both sides of the dispensing table. Many people say this is the highlight of their entire mission trip.

--the cost is very low.

A "Free Reading Glasses Day" will attract people throughout the village. A typical clinic can help 350-500 people in a day, depending on the size of the village and how many people from your group participate. Many people (usually about 1/2) will need only reading glasses. Some will need prescription glasses and some will need surgery. You may be able to refer people in the latter two groups to a clinic to get the help they need. Because many people will come to the clinic, you have the opportunity to talk with them about other parts of your mission.

Of course, this is recommended for missions to rural villages where people cannot obtain reading glasses themselves due to poverty or distance. Big cities probably have resources for these glasses without help.

If you want to find out how to set up a dispensary (in an 8 minute video), get tips and tools, and find out how to order glasses, go to www.restoringvision.org.

We are a non-profit organization that provides new reading glasses and sunglasses to groups going to, or with clinics in, developing countries. Over the last 16 years, we have supplied over 16 million pairs of glasses to over 1,800 medical and faith-based missions traveling to 75 countries. Adding these glasses to a mission trip is easy and they make a dramatic difference in peoples' lives. We make it easy to add the glasses and provide you with simple dispensing tips to make their distribution easy and fulfilling. Many groups tell us that dispensing the glasses was the highlight of their mission trip. Reading glasses benefit seniors, who have lost the ability to focus close up, as well as younger people who are farsighted--a condition more common in developing countries. Sunglasses prevent eye damage from UV light and blowing dust and smoke.