Keller Lions Club was formed in 1948 and is chartered under Lions Club International. The local nonprofit provides a variety of services, including underwriting eye exams and providing corrective eyeglasses for economically disadvantaged students in Keller ISD. The group also collects and recycles used eyeglasses.

Zooming in

Elizabeth Carter is the one of three female members of the Keller Lions Club. She said she joined the organization in 2017 after years of involvement with the nonprofit’s annual pageant. Carter previously served as the club’s president and today is a member of the board of directors.

Carter and other volunteers provide vision screenings at Keller ISD's annual back-to-school event, and at local day cares and preschools upon request.

One of her responsibilities is operating and training club member volunteers on how to use the Plusoptix vision screening device.


“We do a vision screening where you either pass or fail,” Carter said. “If you pass, we give the parent a paper that says your child has passed the screening and basically means you probably don’t need to go see an eye doctor. If you fail it, it means you need to take your child to see an eye doctor to have an exam.”

If parents indicate they cannot afford a visit to the eye doctor, Keller Lions Club has a network of local eye doctors who are willing to do the exams at no cost to the parents.

“If the child needs glasses but can’t afford the glasses, they can come [to us] and pick out a pair of frames, and we can pay to have the lenses put in,” Carter said.

What else


Courtenay Martin joined Keller Lions Club about five years ago.

“I got shamed into joining,” Martin laughingly said. “I was friends with some of the members, and they kept working on me. I’ve had a very good life ... so I wanted to give back to those who needed help.”

Martin has been a member of the nonprofit's board of directors and is currently a board member of The Lions District 2E2 Eyeglass Recycling Center in Watauga, an entity of Keller Lions Club.

There are 25 eyeglass donation boxes at local optometry offices and one in front of Keller Lions Club.


Donated single-vision glasses and readers are processed at this location, while bifocals, trifocals, progressives and prism lenses are sent to The Lions District 2E2 Eyeglass Recycling Center in Midland.

Martin and other volunteers check the donated glasses for broken, scratched or missing lenses, missing nose pieces, or frame damage. If glasses are deemed unacceptable, they are put into a recycling box and sold as scrap to a recycler.

“We sort them, wash them, determine the prescription and rebag them in a container for use,” Martin said. “We have nine lens meters that you put the glasses on to determine the prescription.”

Most of the recycled eyeglasses are distributed on international church or medical mission trips. However, some stay local.


“I was able to help this lady get eyeglasses,” Martin said. “She had lost her job, got kicked out of her apartment—had all kinds of issues—and had lost her glasses. I was able to help her out with that.”

Get involved

Martin and Carter said there are many ways to get involved with Keller Lions Club. In addition to vision initiatives, the group helps local school groups and Scout troops, participates in the Texas Department of Transportation's adopt-a-highway program, and much more.

Some of the volunteers who help at the eyeglass recycle center are high school students.


“I know they want the service hours,” Martin said. “But most of the kids are dedicated to being a good citizen.”