Shrewsbury – Jon Haglund, president of Arch Vision Inc. of Shrewsbury and former president of the Ophthalmic Division of American Optical Corporation, has generously donated 120,000 brand new, single vision, polycarbonate lenses to the Massachusetts, District 33A Lions Club.
In business since 1997, Haglund has decided to retire and close his operation. Having been impressed for many years with Lions Clubs International’s sight programs and pondering what he should do with his remaining inventory, he and his wife Patricia decided to donate the lenses and a complete finishing lab to the District 33A Lions. The wholesale value of the donation is estimated at over $300,000. Because of this extraordinary donation, 60,000 people, who have no access to eyewear, will receive brand new corrective lenses, opening up a world of sight that they have not known.
On March 10, led by Region 1 Chair John Riemer and Westborough Lions Club President Angelo Cavaliere, 15 District 33A Lions from eight Worcester area clubs, including Westborough, Grafton, Charlton, Bolton, Shrewsbury, Monson, Uxbridge, and Barre, gathered at a distribution center in Worcester to load the donated lenses onto a truck for distribution. Don Fortin, District 33A Eyeglass Recycling Chair, is coordinating the dissemination of the lenses and finishing lab equipment to a third-world country.
