The Lions Club of Morpeth has for a number of years included recycling initiatives for the benefit of needy people both locally and abroad.

It started when the Lions project ‘A Gift for Living’ enables obsolete or unwanted foreign coinage to be collected and centrally be converted into funds that supports a children’s hospital in the former Yugoslavia.  Dawson and Sanderson in Morpeth and Hays Travel in Ashington are particularly helpful and over the years a number of large cash sacks containing the currency have left Morpeth to Lancashire where the project is based.

Next came old spectacles which when collected are sent to Cirencester Lions Club for sorting and onward despatch to the Lions European distribution centre in France.  From there the finished spectacles are distributed to many Third World countries for the benefit of people who would otherwise be unable to purchase glasses.  There are a number of collectors in Morpeth and in particular, Greens the Opticians on Bridge Street.  The Lions are also grateful to Aaron Optometrists for agreeing to donate used spectacles from their clients in Ashington.

The Club is now about to embark on two new initiatives involving old mobile phones which are to be recycled and will benefit poorer people overseas and empty computer ink cartridges. Unwanted phones and ink cartridges can be left with Mohammad Ilyas of PC & Phones World at 48 Bridge Street, Morpeth.

Being fairly new in Morpeth, Mohammad said ‘I want to contribute to the Morpeth community and when the Lions approached me, I thought this would be a small way of helping’.

Morpeth Lions President, Richard Nash recently visited the phone shop to make an initial collection of phones and also to take the opportunity to thank Mohammad for his public spiritedness.

Any reader wishing to donate these items for recycling should either visit the shops mentioned or contact Lion Simon Pringle on 01670 513169.

Don’t forget you can follow us on facebook, twitter and you tube – simply search for @MorpethLions, look for the hashtag #ServingMorpeth and to see wider Lions news search #KindnessMatters.