But when both groups left Set Free Church in Yucaipa, they could all see much clearer.
About 150 people from ages 2 to the mid-60s attended the Calimesa Breakfast Lions Club Friends Across The Border's fifth annual vision clinic at the church on Saturday.
And it was free. Yucaipa optometrist Brian Van Dusen provided free exams and the Lions Club provided free glasses.
Cheryl Charles and her family of five - two adults and three children - came to the vision clinic because the family doesn't have the money or the insurance to pay for expensive exams and glasses.
"A regular eye exam is about $56," Charles said. "That would cost us almost $300. We can't afford the exam, and we couldn't afford new glasses."
To provide glasses for those in need, the Lions Club has set up collection boxes in various businesses where old or unused glasses are collected through public donations. The glasses are repaired and recalibrated by Lions Club members, and entered into a huge computer database.
At the Set Free clinic, more than 15,000 glasses were stored in racks and trays five-feet high, and about 30-feet long. That may seem like a lot, but for Van Dusen, the need is much greater in the U.S. and worldwide. Van Dusen said that if enough glasses and ophthalmic equipment could be furnished to optometrists in impoverished
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"An African doctor makes about $500 a month," said Van Dusen. "How can he purchase thousands of dollars of equipment? That's not possible."
Friends Across the Border is making an impact in Mexico. Calimesa Lions Club members and volunteers travel to Tecate and K-57 (located 57-kilometers south of Mexicali) throughout the year to conduct vision exams. Many of these people live in poverty. After a vision clinic many - young and old - see clearly for the first time in their lives.
While the need for vision clinics is great across the border, it's also needed at home. Three times a year the Lions Club goes to Martha's Kitchen in Indio. There they fit the homeless and poor with glasses.
"It breaks your heart," said Patti Van Dusen, Brian Van Dusen's wife, "but it's very rewarding to see young children get glasses for the first time."
Children are much harder to match, Van Dusen said, because the majority of donated glasses are adult sizes. When a match can't be found a new pair is made free.
Many at the Set Free Church clinic are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Many are financially strapped. And many simply cannot afford to pay for glasses.
Without Friends Across the Border, Toni Barragan's vision would have to remain as it is: impaired. She has glasses, but the prescription is outdated, she said.
"When I read, I'm good for about 10 minutes, and then my eyes water and get sore," Barragan said. "This is my first time (at a Friends Across the Border) free clinic. This really helps me."
Lisa Kilmer was one of the 15 volunteers helping at the clinic.
"They are all very grateful," Kilmer said . "Some say, `Wow, I can see again."'
To learn more about the Calimesa Breakfast Lions Club and Friends Across The Border visit,
