Got a pair of new glasses from Target, used them for a while and now you want to buy a new one. But ever wondered if you can make use of your old pair of glasses? What if I say you can donate them back to Target?
If you are someone who wants to donate their eyeglasses back to Target then, well, food news for you! Some optical target stores do take used eyeglasses. But why not all optical stores of target do so? Let’s see!
Can you donate eyeglasses to target?
Target opticals is an American-based optical company that has over 500 stores across America. But even though it has so many stores, you may not be able to donate your eyeglasses at every one of them!
As of 2021, customers can only donate their eyeglasses to nearby target optical stores which are working or partnering up with any charity organization. Hence, it is better to contact these optical stores and ask them if they accept such donations or not.
Why don’t all optical stores accept these donations?
As mentioned earlier, Target’s optical store only accepts donations when it is working with some charity programs.
When it is working with such organizations, it doesn’t have to treat these glasses as waste. They can simply give them out to these organizations. They don’t have to worry about its reuse and waste of space and storage.
But if the store doesn’t have any collaboration with such organizations, accepting such glasses will only turn out to be a waste of space for them. They can’t reuse it. They don’t even have a way of recycling it or even if they have, it will still be of no use to them.
Probably, that’s why you can’t expect them to accept donations in all stores. You also cannot expect a particular store to keep accepting donations for a long time too as it only accepts them till it works with the organizations.
The organizations and programs that the target participate and work with
When you donate eyeglasses to the target, you can expect them to be used for some great cause. Target partners up with many organizations and programs that work towards hunger relief, military and veteran support, disaster management, environment protection, and many such causes.
It works with organizations like the Lions club which collects these donated eyeglasses and dismantles them to sell their parts or metals for money.
There are many charitable programs that target participates. One of them is the OneSight program. Under this program, anyone with a referral from a charitable organization and an accurate and valid prescription can get themselves a pair of eyeglasses free of cost. This program helps people with problems in financial stability and vision impairment.
Points to remember while donating the eyeglasses to target.
Since there is a high chance of target not accepting your donations, make sure you keep these two to three things in mind before going for a donation in target-
- Always contact the store first
Before bringing your eyeglasses for donations at target, it would be better if you contact them beforehand and ask them if they are accepting donations or not. It will save your time and energy which would, otherwise, be wasted if your nearby target store wasn’t accepting any such donations.
- Lookout for eyeglasses’ condition
This is something that has to be kept in mind while donating used eyeglasses to any organization. Always remember that the used eyeglasses should be gently handled and their condition should be good.
If you are donating gently handled and used glasses it could be much easier for them to give them to the needy ones.
- Remember this is not the only way to donate
If your nearby target store is not accepting donations, don’t be disheartened by it. Various other organizations will willingly accept your donation!
If not target then where?
If you are unable to find a target store that accepts donations of used eyeglasses. You can always look out for alternative ways.
Organizations like goodwill and the salvation army accept eyeglasses that are in good condition. They give out these eyeglasses to those people who don’t have enough income to afford these glasses.
Organizations like The Lions Clubs accept these eyeglasses so that they can dismantle them and sell them to get money which will later be used for charity purposes.
Even businesses like Walmart and Costco accept these eyeglasses.
Conclusion
Buying eyeglasses can be expensive at times, especially to those whose income is not high enough to support it. To these people, donations of eyeglasses can be a great way of social help.
Target opticals, a company that sells a wide range of optical products with over 500 stores across the US accept used eyeglasses from the customers. But, they only do so, if they are working with some charitable association or program.
Hence, you can donate your used eyeglasses to your nearby target stores. However, make sure you contact them beforehand and ask if they are up for donations or not.
If they are not then you can look for other ways!
Frequently Asked Questions
- Name some organizations that accept used eyeglasses in America other than the target.
There are many places where one can donate eyeglasses in America other than the target. Some of these are-
- Lions Club
- Goodwill
- OneSight
- Walmart
- Pearle Vision
- The Salvation Army etc.
