VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - A bunch of volunteers are on the streets of the Downtown Eastside to help the homeless see clearly this Thanksgiving Monday. The folks from
Clearly Contacts and the
Union Gospel Mission have teamed up and are handing out about 2,000 pairs of glasses.
Steve Wallace with Clearly Contacts says there are far too many people who need corrective lenses and just can't afford it. "This lady who has never seen correctly her entire life, and the smile on her face when she put on a pair of eyeglasses and she's just like, 'Wow, this is what it looks like to be able to see.' The smiles you put on people's faces... it just changes their life."
This venture is part of the
Change the View program which also helps people in third-world countries. "You don't hear about this, you hear about the food banks and Thanksgiving dinners, but so many of them require vision correction and they just can't afford it."
The program has been around for a year and Wallace says they hope to donate over 2 million pairs of glasses by the year 2020.