The Backstory

My first inspiration for this project was my friend Bob I knew while sailing through Mexico. Bob and I buddy-boated the leap across the Sea of Cortez on our jump from the Baja coast of Cabo San Lucas to the mainland at Puerto Vallarta. He was my first VHF radio buddy and an all-around real good friend. I can't even count how many times he helped me along the way, always encouraging and never doubting the plans I had for myself and my tiny sailboat. From friendly input on things like how to build a self-steering rig of pulleys and thick rubber bands to inviting me aboard for a home-cooked meal when I needed it the most, I could always count on him to look out for me. One night Will and I were hanging out after a nice meal and Bob was rummaging through some bins when he pointed out that he literally had hundreds of pairs of eyeglasses on-board his boat. He told us how he had gathered them in Seattle from friends, families, and through drives before he had departed down the coast. He said they were destined for islands of the South Pacific, lands where glasses were either hard to find or too expensive to obtain.

Giving aint blind either

One element I want to add to his effort on my trip is that more than just dropping donated glasses off in places, I want to try to use the glasses exchange as a way to CONNECT PEOPLE in different parts of the world. Every pair of eyeglasses donated will be tagged with the presciption of the lenses and the contact information for the person who donated them. The idea being that we will take photos of the people who recieve them wearing their new glasses and then help organize a correspondence with the donor. So the idea is that your send in your old eyeglasses and we will deliver them to locations around the world and open communication lines with people in places so remote most will never visit or have even heard of. One day out of the blue, you'll receive a postcard, a letter, or just an envelope with a photo inside and it will remind you that we're all citizens  in a global community, just neighbors in different states, and that we're all in this together.

Contribute + Connect

To contribute to this project, send all recycled eyeglasses or sunglsses to the following address:

Bobbie Rounds The World

3107 Rolling Acres Place

Valrico / FL / 33596

And include these 4 pieces of information:

Prescription (to the best of your knowledge)

Your Name

Your Mailing Address

& Your Email Address

Only include your contact info if you wish to receive contact regarding where-in-the-world your glasses end up. Receipts are available for tax deduction purposes. Just make a note with the information you send and we'll be sure to get one back your way as quickly as possible.