World Travel Jersey has collected 1874 pairs of glasses from islanders in 18 months, which will be given to people with limited access to eye care around the world.

The team set up a donation box at their office in the summer of 2023, encouraging schools, clients and communities to get involved and give their old spectacles a new lease of life. 

Since then almost 2000 pairs have been collected, which will be given to charity Lion's Club.

These will go on to be distributed to those in need worldwide, with donations that can't be used spared from the landfill and recycled. 

A big donation day at World Travel Jersey

Trena Lewis, Travel Planner and Marketing Manager at the Travel Agent, tells us how she got involved with the global initiative: 

"Come August 2023, I has the thought that we were all spectacles wearers in the office. We were just talking about replacing them as you do year in year out to change your frames so you don't look like Deirdre Barlow anymore, or perhaps not now - it's gone back the other way! 

"I thought it would be really nice if they weren't wasted so we can do something with them. I remembered seeing something about the Lion's Club locally where someone did a collection for them, so I thought it would be really nice to do it from here. 

"Then we started speaking with our clients, putting stuff on social media, Ecycle, Jersey Ask and Advise and it has grown from there. I think we had about 10 pairs between us all at their time and since then it's grown up to 1874 - and ongoing!"

Some of the 1874 pairs of glasses donated 

The work of Trena and the team has had a knock on effect on inspiring other people in the community to get involved, with Age Concern and Hautlieu School now sporting collection boxes in their buildings. 

Meanwhile, World Travel Jersey have entered their third year of collecting specs in their office, which is open from 9.00am - 4.00pm, Monday - Friday. 

Trena told Channel 103 will be another successful year for glasses collection: 

"It would be fabulous if we could exceed what we've collected already. It would be phenomenal if we could get close to overall a total of 5000."