Auburn Noon Lions Club receives a ‘pot of gold’

What does a "pot of gold" look like? To the hungry, it would be filled with food. To the thirsty, it would overflow with clean water. To the vision impaired, it would be filled with eyeglasses.

By Marjorie Gordon
For the Auburn Reporter

What does a “pot of gold” look like?

To the hungry, it would be filled with food. To the thirsty, it would overflow with clean water. To the vision impaired, it would be filled with eyeglasses.

The Auburn Noon Lions Club received a “pot of gold” at its Aug. 26 meeting – 15 cardboard boxes filled with 2,500 pairs of eyeglasses.

King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer delivered the large collection in a pickup truck and presented them to King Lion Ed Butler and members.

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When he heard about the large number of unclaimed eyeglasses lost on Metro buses, von Reichbauer asked what became of them.

“When I was first elected to the County Council, I asked Metro what happened to the unclaimed eye glasses that are often left behind on their buses,” von Reichbauer said. “I was told that the unclaimed glasses were thrown away. Since then I have collected thousands of prescription and sunglasses for donation to South King County organizations, helping families in need.”

Learning they are discarded annually, he determined to rescue and recycle them. He knew the Lions Clubs are equipped to process and distribute them to the needy locally and worldwide.

Years ago, Helen Keller challenged the Lions Club International to become “Knights for the Blind.” This became the primary focus of one of the world’s largest service clubs.

The gift of 2,500 pairs of glasses was immediately transferred to the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center, LERC, in Olympia. Each will become a miracle of vision to someone —a child to see the whiteboard, a student to read a book, a parent and grandparent to see grandchildren.

The Lions Club is grateful for the compassionate stewardship of von Reichbauer, and extends its thanks to the anonymous donors.