Give eye care.
Every purchase you make at Second Specs helps fund eye care, glasses, and surgical services for people who need them most — around the world and right here in Canada.
Our Partnership
Proud supporters of Canadian Vision Care
For every pair of glasses purchased at Second Specs, we donate to Canadian Vision Care — a registered Canadian charity that has been delivering eye care and eyewear to underserved communities around the world for over thirty years.
Our donations offset the cost of glasses for the charity, which directly frees up their funding for equipment, surgical supplies, eye drops, and other critical medical resources — the things that are harder to donate but just as essential.
All travel and professional services on CVC missions are 100% donated by the optometrists, ophthalmologists, and eye care providers who participate. Every dollar goes further because of that generosity.
Canadian Vision Care
A registered Canadian charity founded over 30 years ago. CVC has donated millions of dollars in glasses, eye care, and surgical services to people in Jamaica, the Philippines, Kenya, Honduras, Guyana, and beyond.
Their model is simple: recruit volunteer eye care professionals, source donated glasses and supplies, and bring real medical-grade vision care to communities that have little or none.
Visit canadianvisioncare.com →Children's vision is a priority — and often overlooked
Kids who struggle to see are too often labelled as lazy or difficult, when the real problem is one that a pair of glasses can solve. Canadian Vision Care makes children's vision a cornerstone of every mission. Watching a child put on glasses for the first time and finally see clearly is one of those moments that genuinely changes everything — for them and for everyone around them.
Where We Go
Eye care missions
around the world
Second Specs team members regularly help organize and attend humanitarian eye care trips alongside Canadian Vision Care volunteers. These aren't just donation runs — they're full clinical missions delivering exams, glasses, and surgical care on the ground.
Jamaica
Ongoing mission providing eye exams, prescription glasses, and vision screenings to communities across Jamaica with limited access to optical services.
Philippines
Delivering glasses and eye care to remote communities in the Philippines, where a simple pair of reading glasses can mean the difference between earning a livelihood and losing one.
Africa (Kenya & beyond)
Surgical and optical care missions across Sub-Saharan Africa, including cataract surgeries and comprehensive eye screenings in areas with almost no local eye care infrastructure.
Guyana & Honduras
Community eye care clinics providing exams, dispensing donated glasses, and training local health workers to identify and refer vision problems in underserved rural areas.
Malawi See Can — Canadian Vision Care in action. Thanks to Rick Castiglione for donating his time to document CVC's work.
Donate Your Old Glasses
Got old glasses
sitting in a drawer?
Don't throw them out. Bring your old glasses to any Second Specs location and drop them in our donation box.
The local Lions Club collects them, cleans and repairs them, catalogs them by prescription, and distributes them to people in need — both locally and through international programs.
It takes thirty seconds and costs nothing. Your old pair could be someone else's only pair.
Drop off at any location
We have donation boxes at all 10 Second Specs locations. Just walk in and ask — no appointment needed.
St. Albert · Grande Prairie · Strathmore · Saskatoon
Shop & Give Back
Every purchase helps
someone see clearly
Shop frames, contacts, or sunglasses — and know that part of what you spend goes toward eye care for someone who needs it.
