McMaster University student refurbishing donated glasses to help communities

Kobe Li founded 20/20 Mission in 2023 and has collected and refurbished thousands of donated eyeglasses for underserved communities, partnering with Rayjon Share Care. He is one of 75 recipients of The Starfish Climate75 fellowship and won the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award in 2025.

Kobe Li is a 19-year-old McMaster University student who started 20/20 Mission in 2023 to collect and refurbish used eyeglasses. The group gathers donations from optometrists and volunteers in Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area and ships matched pairs to communities with limited access to vision care. They have worked in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic in partnership with Rayjon Share Care and have supported eye-screening clinics and school environmental activities. Li and his volunteers have grown the program while balancing studies and community work. Key facts: - 20/20 Mission began in 2023 and has collected thousands of used glasses, with early collections of about 1,000 in the first summer and about 4,000 by the following year. - The team reports an inventory of roughly 8,000 pairs and about 40 volunteers collecting in Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area. - The organization has matched a wide range of prescriptions, including a reported rare pair of −15 lenses for a woman who had stopped attending school because she could not see. - Deliveries and clinics have reached communities in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic through a partnership with Rayjon Share Care. - Li received the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award in 2025 and is one of 75 recipients of The Starfish Climate75 fellowship. Summary: The program has provided refurbished glasses and supported eye-screening clinics and environmental awareness activities in rural and Indigenous communities. Volunteers plan to begin collecting from optometrists in Hamilton, and the group is developing partnerships in Africa with hopes to travel to Ghana this year. The Climate75 fellowship runs from February to August 2026 and includes a five-day conference in Squamish, B.C.