WATERBORO — So you’ve been to the optometrist and there’s a brand new pair of specs ready to put your world back in focus.

And so the old pair gets tossed in the back of a desk drawer ”“ perhaps on top of several other pairs of eyeglasses that no longer keep the world in focus.

They can sit there and just  gather dust, or the eyeglasses can be deposited with any Lions Clubs in Maine, to benefit people with eyesight problems, both at home and overseas.

All of the eyeglasses donated to Maine Lions Clubs, from Fort Kent to Kittery, end up at the Massabesic Lions Club, located at Massabesic Regional Medical Center on Route 202. Two tiny rooms on the third floor are dedicated to the eyeglass program, called “Project Recycle.”

“It is a marvelous program,” said longtime Massabesic Lions Club member Betty Morrison, who stopped by to watch five volunteers sort recent donations earlier this week.

Members gather about once a month to process the eyeglasses, dunking them in a ultrasonic cleaner and making minor repairs so that others can see the world in sharp focus.

Sorting through all the eyeglasses is a job in itself.

“Every time I come, I see a new design or shape,” said Bruce Gile, who has been helping with the program for a dozen years.

There are eyeglasses in metal frames, plastic frames, modern frames, some that look a bit dated, and others clearly antique. Nonprescription readers, glasses for distance, close work and bifocals are donated. And then there are tinted lenses, non-tinted lenses, and some that go from light to dark, depending on the brightness of the environment.

In the last quarter of 2009, Massabesic Lions Club Project Recycle processed 28,205 pairs of donated eyeglasses, brightening the outlook of people both here and abroad, said Project Recycle co-chairman Cheryl Precourt. In January alone, the club volunteers processed more than 7,000 pairs.

Because of insurance regulations, used eyeglass lenses can’t be distributed in Maine. But the local club keeps a wide assortment of frames available for optometrists who can  offer the frames free to needy patients. Those in the surrounding area who need help with the cost of eye exams and lenses can make a confidential application to the Lions Club for help, Precourt said.

Most of the glasses go overseas, said Precourt, many to Africa and more recently, a shipment was sent off to Haiti, following the earthquake. The overseas glasses are sent lenses intact, and when they arrive to their destination are fitted by an eye doctor.

“Ninety-nine percent go to the third world,” she said.

Massabesic Lions Club became the processing center for Maine Project Recycle in 1991. The program is one of several related to the medical field where the local club has found a niche. The Regional Medical Center building, the former Waterboro High School, was leased by the Lions Club from the town in order to attract physicians and other medical providers to the area. As well as eyeglasses, the club has a medical equipment loan program and collects used hearing aids and cell phones that can be recycled for further use, among other programs.

The hearing aids are given to a local audiologist who reconditions them for needy folks who qualify. Cell phones, stripped of digital information and programmed to make emergency 911 calls, are given to shelters for use by those facing the potential threat of domestic violence.

Marge and George Kiley are among the regulars who help process the glasses. They’ve been Lions Club members for a long time.

“I was 32 years old and my youngest daughter had just had her second birthday,” said Marge Kelly as she deftly counted and sorted through a box full of eyeglasses. “They helped us out. My husband had an accident at work and they loaned us a hospital bed.”

Later, she said, as her husband recovered, the Lions members invited the family to a meal and they soon joined the club.

“Twenty-seven years, we’re still here,” she said.

The glasses that are beyond repair end up in a special box, where they’re sent to a company that gleans the parts ”“ bows, screws and lenses and pays the club for the items ”“ which helps the Massabesic Lions Club pick up the tab for those who need help paying for exams or lenses.

Antique eyeglasses are first offered to antique dealers, some are sold as movie props and others for their gold value. All of the money earned is returned to the program.

Non-prescription reading glasses are sorted by strength and passed on to nursing homes and York County Jail, Precourt said.

Even though the group processes thousands of glasses annually, the demand is strong. Children’s glasses are especially needed, Precourt said.

Donations of glasses, old hearing aids and cell phones are accepted by any Lions Club member or may be placed in drop boxes provided by Maine Lions Project Recycle located in several town offices, local banks and other locations.

— Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.