Halloween Events: Trick or Treating for Candy (and Charity)

The Halloween celebration provides a perfect opportunity for families to help their kids develop a sense of responsibility and achieve that great feeling that comes along with helping others. This October 31st you can teach your children leadership abilities, communication skills and the benefits of recycling, all while partaking in the typical Halloween tradition of Trick or Treating for candy.

It is called Sight Night and its purpose is to get as many volunteers from communities all over North America to, individually or in groups, collect used eyewear while Trick or Treating for candy from their neighbors door to door. The collected eyeglasses generated from this annual Halloween event are redistributed by hand to needy people in developing countries who cannot afford necessary vision care.

Sight Night is made possible through the collaboration of Lions Club International and OneSight, both of which are well known for their dedication to and impact on improving vision for the poor.

Lions Club and OneSight make it easy for families to collect eyeglasses during Halloween night. There is no minimum number of eyeglasses required to collect as every pair counts. Even one or two pairs of old spectacles your kids can gather from friends and family would be greatly appreciated. The amount of time and effort you and your kids are available to give is completely up to you.

How to participate in Sight Night 2009
Here are the basics:

What to collect- The Sight Night 2009 can accept and reuse prescription eyeglasses and non-prescription sunglasses of any size or style as long as they are complete pairs with no parts missing.

Where to collect- Door to door while Trick or Treating for candy is the standard method of collection but adults and children are encouraged to dig up used glasses from anywhere they can. Great places to find unneeded (or lost) used eyewear are: Schools, churches, temples or other places of worship, local gyms or fitness centers, senior citizen centers, lost and found bins at malls, movie theatres, restaurants, airports, other tourist spots in your city, pools or beaches if applicable in your area, many more. Be creative; the scouting possibilities are endless.

When to collect- Used eyewear collected on Sight Night, October 31st, should be dropped off no later than November 6, 2009 at any of the following locations:
LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical, Sunglass Hut, or at one of your local Lions Club Branches or Lions Club Eyewear Recycling Centers.

The above basic rules apply to anyone who volunteers to participate in the Sight Night Halloween used eyeglass collection event, regardless of their desired level of commitment.

However, for anyone who may wish to go a step further in their participation in the Sight Night eyeglass collecting Halloween event, the Sight Night "Howl to Guide" offers many additional resources to help you promote the event in your community.

See Lionsclub.org to download and/or print (optional) promotional tools such as:

*A "Scare up Old Eyewear" flier to recruit other eyeglass collectors in your community

*Color or B&W door hangers to place on your neighbors' doors to inform them in advance about the Sight Night Trick or Treating eyeglass collection

*A printable Sight Night sticker to wear as a badge during your Trick or Treating adventure. This will give people confidence that you are a legitimate Sight Night volunteer. (It will also serve as a reminder to you about your eyeglass collection mission, in the case you accidentally get distracted by all the candy!)

Remember that regardless of how much time you can afford to put into this used eyeglass drive charity, all efforts do not only have the opportunity to improve the quality of life for a person in need but additionally can provide an unequivocal sense of satisfaction and delight knowing that you've done something generous for others.

And if you wish to commemorate you or your children's participation, don't forget to report the number of used eyeglasses collected by Friday, November 6, 2009 so you can get your official Sight Night 2009 Certificate of Recognition. The link for the feedback survey can also be found on this page.

For more questions about Sight Night Halloween Event for Charity, call 1-888-935-4589.