by Jae Lamar, Executive Director
228 N. Holly St., Medford
The Southern Oregon Sight and Hearing Center has been located in downtown Medford since
1967; and although its services and processes have changed, our mission has always been to
serve the sight and hearing needs of Jackson County residents.
SOLSHC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides financial assistance to low-income individuals
struggling to afford an eye exam, glasses or hearing aids.
After applying for our vision program, approved applicants receive a voucher in the mail that covers the cost of a routine eye exam or a new pair of glasses. Approved applicants of our hearing program are invited to come pick up a
brand new pair of EarCentric brand over-the-counter hearing aids from our office.
In addition to these programs, SOLSHC collects donations of used glasses and hearing aids, cleans and restores the best pairs, reads them for prescription with our Lensometer, and then files them away in our database. This allows us to search our system for a pair of glasses that may work for walk-ins that bring their current prescription from an eye doctor. If we find a pair they like, they get to keep them for free!
But don’t worry about the pairs of glasses that don’t quite make the cut. These pairs are shipped off to Coffee Creek Women’s Prison, where they are used as practice material for individuals learning a trade in optometry. Upon graduation, the students in this project will have earned a national certification as a Paraoptometric (CPO) and re-enter society with an opportunity for success. After their repair trip to Coffee Creek, the glasses are shipped off to developing nations to bring the gift of sight to the rest of the world!
SOLSHC is also a host site for our local Meals on Wheels Program Food and Friends, which provides 16,000 meals each month to seniors unable to prepare meals on their own. In addition to these meals, volunteers provide invaluable social interaction and welfare checks.
SOLSHC functions 100% on donations and does not receive federal funding for our programs, so we hold several fundraising events every year to keep our programs going. Our next event will be our annual Bling Fling Gently Used Jewelry Sale in the spring of 2026 at our location here in Medford.
We are currently accepting donations of gently used jewelry of all values to turn into new glasses and hearing aids for people in our community. 100% of the proceeds from this event go back into our programs.
If you are interested in donating glasses, hearing aids, or jewelry to our Center, please visit us at 228 N. Holly St. Mon-Thurs from 9am to 2pm, or drop them off in the drop-slot next to the door! You are also welcome to call with questions or comments about our programs at 541-779-3653, email us at lionsagencyassistant@gmail.com,
visit our website at www.southernoregonlionssightandhearingcenter.org, or stop by during office
hours for a visit!
We are always looking for volunteers, donations, or friendly people curious about what we do!
Where there’s a need, there’s a Lion!
