The glasses donated will be used to help disadvantaged communities locally, nationally and internationally with their sight.

Mount Isa Leichhardt Lions Club president, Liza Dowler, said the initiative was a national Lions project that had been running for 15 years.

“We wanted to get involved to help make a difference,” Ms Dowler said.

“What we are doing is just collecting glasses that people no longer want or use anymore, prescription, sunglasses or safety glasses.

“They will then be sent away to a business in Brisbane, where they are cleaned, sorted and shipped to countries or communities that cannot afford to buy glasses.”

Ms Dowler said the support from the Mount Isa community had been amazing, with at least 100 pairs of glasses donated over the last two months.

“We all have those pairs sitting in the bottom of the draw that we don’t know what to do with,” she said.

“Locals can drop them into Wendy Humphries at Mount Isa Optical, Isa Styles (and Kmart from December 14).

“There is no cut off date we just want to let locals know that they can give their old glasses a new life while helping someone in need.”

With the Australian headquarters in Queensland, the program has delivered 2.5 million pair to countries in Africa, Europe, Middle East, Indian Sub continent, East Asia, and the Far East, including China, the countries of the Pacific Rim and Southern Asia and Oceania.