Texarkana Arkansas collecting used eclipse glasses to send to kids in Latin America

TEXARKANA, Ark. (KSLA) - The Great American Eclipse has come and gone, but there’s still something you can do with your special eclipse glasses.

Texarkana, Ark., leaders are collecting new and used eclipse glasses at City Hall. Officials say the glasses will be sent to a company in Utah that manufactures the glasses to send to Latin America for an eclipse later this year.

“In order to help serve underserved nations where we have children who don’t have access to them, these kids ... this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So they are sending them over there to be distributed so these children can have the same experience we had on Monday,” said Jamie Finley, Texarkana, Ark., city planner.

Finley began this drive for city employees and it didn’t take long before others got involved.

“We’ve just had the Arkansas Department of Tourism, our tourist centers on the interstate and 71, brought over 600 pairs they had left over,” Finley said.

The glasses can be dropped off at City Hall during regular business hours; City Hall is located at 216 Walnut St. in Texarkana, Ark.

“We are looking at the ISO-approved eclipse glasses. They have to be in good condition. They can’t be altered. They can’t be torn or anything like that,” Finley said.

The glasses will be collected through June 1. The Latin American eclipse will be in October.