VICENZA, Italy – A long-standing partnership between the optometry team at the U.S. Army Health Clinic in Vicenza, local veterans and the Lions Club of Villafranca Verona continues to make a global impact by providing prescription eyeglasses to underserved communities around the world. The most recent collection handoff took place June 4, marking another milestone in a collaboration that has improved thousands of lives over the past two decades.
The initiative began inside the Vicenza Optometry Clinic, where host nation optician Roberto Santochi, now in his 30th year of service, first recognized the potential of recycling unused prescription glasses.
“We started to get old prescription glasses donations from patients about 25 years ago, thinking that somehow they could be re‑used,” Santochi said.
That opportunity arrived when Bill Murphy, a U.S. military Veteran and long‑time Lions Club member, visited the clinic for an appointment.
“About 20 years ago I noticed a large box with used and new glasses,” Murphy recalled. “I asked the staff if it would be possible to donate these glasses to the Lions Club in Villafranca Verona. The response was an enthusiastic ‘yes.’ This was the beginning of a relationship with the Army Clinic that is still going strong.”
Through the Lions Club’s international humanitarian channels, the donated glasses are cleaned, sorted and distributed to communities in Africa and other developing regions.
Murphy explained that these used and new eyeglasses provide free, high‑quality vision correction to impoverished people worldwide who lack access to professional eye care.
“The initiative tackles global blindness, conserves resources, and supports developing countries,” he said.
For Santochi, the mission has always been rooted in service.
“Our first thought at the time was to recycle goods that would otherwise be wasted, doing charity at the same time,” he said. “Nowadays the scope is even more actual.”
Murphy emphasized the importance of the effort for the Veterans’ community as well.
“As Military Veterans we are always looking for ways to do good things in our community and for the local Italian community as well. This initiative is just one example of Veterans giving back and supporting our motto: ‘We Serve’,” Murphy said. “These glasses travel farther than any of us ever imagined; even after 20 years, each pair still delivers more than sight—it delivers hope.”
Only prescription and reader glasses are collected—no sunglasses.