Volunteers with Machinists Union District Lodge 751 are joining with the Bonney Lake Lions Club this summer to collect used eyeglasses for people in need.

Union and community members can drop off used glasses at any IAM 751 union hall in Puget Sound, including the Auburn Hall, at 201 A St. SW. The drive will run from June through September.

The collected glasses will be cleaned and sorted by prescription type. Then, volunteer vision professionals take the donated eyeglasses to people in remote parts of developing countries, where they either don’t have access to eye doctors or can’t afford to buy glasses.

The Lions Clubs also collect reading glasses and non-prescription sunglasses to give to homeless people in the Northwest.

“Machinists Union members at Boeing have good vision benefits, which means those of us who need glasses can get new ones on a regular basis,” said Rob Curran, the chairman of the Machinists Volunteer Program, which is the community service arm of District 751. “But what do we do with the old ones? This is a chance to recycle our old glasses and help improve the quality of life for people around the globe.”