Parrott Academy students set up this collection basket for their Project 2020 eyeglass collection drive. 

Having seen a lot of changes in the year 2020, Parrott Academy students have taken up the challenge of helping others see clearly by collecting used eyeglasses to donate to the Lions Club. 

APA’s SERV Society adviser Leslie Lewis first broached the idea in a June email to APA high schoolers.  “I’ve recently found out that an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide need glasses but don’t have access to them. Naturally, I wondered if there was a way we could turn this into a SERV project,” Lewis explained.  

She quickly heard back from several students who wanted to head up the eyeglass drive in their local communities.  Isha Omer and Ashlyn Crocker teamed up to work in Kinston, Elena Williamson and Haynes Lewis led the challenge in Greenville, Laura Fern Jones took the Jacksonville area, and Tien Le and Caroline Ouano handled Craven and Jones counties.  

A big part of the challenge was coming up with a plan that followed state social distancing guidelines.  Ashlyn Crocker of Kinston reached out to her church community at Westminster United Methodist, but with limited attendance at services, it has taken more time to collect donations.  Her partner Isha Omer said, “With many places closed, I couldn’t leave a box for people to simply walk by and drop glasses in. I ended up passing flyers around neighborhoods and opened offices, collecting glasses from the porches of those who offered to donate.”

Student Haynes Lewis of Greenville, who has already collected over 220 pairs of glasses,  noted, “This project just shows that if you reach out, if you get the word out, there are so many people who want to help others.”