Ever wonder where those eyeglasses in the Lions Club drop box go? Odds are, eyeglasses donated in Morris end up going to I Care, International.

Dr. Jennifer Jacobs said the group’s main goal is to provide eye exams to people who wouldn’t have them otherwise, and the group travels regularly to Central and South America to see people in remote places.

I Care International is an organization founded by Dr. Phil Ortiz in 1987. Ortiz was from Mexico but worked in Morris, and his name is still seen on the Ortiz Eye Associates office. Jacobs said Ortiz made it his mission to serve the underserved community in the global south.

“We provide thorough eye exams, eyeglasses, reading glasses similar to what you’d get over the counter here, sunglasses, eyedrops and then we also provide blood pressure and blood sugar screenings,” Jacobs said.

Ortiz was Jacobs’ eye doctor when she was a child, and he asked her to join I Care International once she became an optometrist. Jacobs has been making the trips to places like Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala since 1996.

Jacobs said the work is rewarding.

“We get the joy of experiencing another culture, because we are very much working hand-in-hand with local organizations there, and sitting across from patients,” Jacobs said. We see a few hundred patients a day. It’s educational. It’s rewarding, because we get to work directly with another culture. It really is eye-opening to see folks from other parts of the world and how they live."

She said even though there are differences, people are truly the same.

“Anywhere you go, we all have the need for friendship,” Jacobs said. “Everybody likes to laugh, and everybody likes to smile,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs said the travel can be challenging, since they travel to remote parts of Central America. She said the group takes between 25 and 40 volunteers every time they travel, flying in before taking buses to get to the communities where they’re staying.

I Care International also partners with the National Honor Society from Morris Community High School. When glasses are donated, they’re usually in need of a good cleaning. That’s where the National Honor Society members come in: They’re the ones giving all the glasses a good cleaning before they’re shipped out.

The organization also has roots in San Luis Obispo County, California, where optometrists and volunteers do much the same work. Like Morris, high school students in San Luis Obispo County also volunteer their time and earn their service hours by cleaning glasses and helping out.

Jacobs said the best way to support I Care is to donate through its website at icareinternational.org, or by donating eyeglasses to the Lions Club donation boxes, at Ortiz Eye Associates, 880 Bedford Road in Morris, or at Looking Out Vision, 124 E. Jefferson St.