Many big-box and optical stores across the U.S. accept donations of eyeglasses that are no longer in use and recycle these to avoid unnecessary wastage.
Since Target has an Optical Department that sells a variety of eyeglasses, you may be wondering if you can donate your out-of-use eyeglasses to Target? Here is everything I’ve found out!
Can You Donate Eyeglasses To Target?
Customers can only donate eyeglasses to certain Target Optical Centers that are partnered with a charity organization. Use Target’s Store Locator to contact a local Optical Center and ask if they accept donations. Alternatively, you can donate gently-used eyeglasses to The Salvation Army or Goodwill.
If you want to know more about why Target does not accept eyeglass donations at all locations, what charity organizations it partners with, and much more, keep on reading!
Why Can’t You Donate Eyeglasses To Target?
Target Optical Centers only accept donations when they are participating in specific donation programs.
Otherwise, Target has no use for, or way of, recycling the eyeglasses.
To find out if your local Target Optical Center is currently accepting donations for eyeglasses, you can contact the nearest Target store by finding its number through Target’s Store Locator.
Who Can You Donate To In Target?
Target partners with several charity organizations across the U.S. and some of these have donation programs and policies.
Here are the charity organizations that accept monetary donations through Target:
- Disaster Preparedness And Response
- Hunger Relief
- Military And Veteran Support
- Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- Environmental Stewardship
For more information on these charities and how Target helps to support them, click here.
Where Can You Donate Eyeglasses?
You can donate eyeglasses at Target Optical locations that run (or participate in) an eyeglass donation program.
Alternatively, Walmart will accept gently used sunglasses but not reader eyeglasses.
Additionally, The Salvation Army accepts both sunglasses and reader eyeglasses as long as these are in a gently-used condition.
Moreover, Goodwill will also accept gently used eyeglasses as part of its organization for low-income people to receive more affordable eyeglasses.
What Does Target Do With The Donated Eyeglasses?
Target Optical Centers partner with a charity organization called The Lions Club which helps to fund local community projects by cleaning and dismantling eyeglasses and selling the scrap metals for money.
All (100%) of these acquired funds go towards local charity projects.
If your local Target Optical Center is partnering with a different charity group, you can ask for more information at the Center or by asking staff over the phone.
The staff will be happy to answer any queries you have about the programs.
To learn more about shopping at Target, you can see our related posts on if Target Optical accepts VSP and EyeMed, if you can combine Target gift cards, and if Target takes passport photos.
Conclusion: Can you Donate Eyeglasses to Target?
You can only donate eyeglasses to certain Target Optical Center locations that are currently partnering with a charity organization.
You can find out whether your local Target Optical Center is accepting donations by visiting them in-store or by calling their service desk.
Alternatively, you can donate gently-used eyeglasses to The Salvation Army or Goodwill.
