2006 Annual Report
When was Unite For Sight founded? How has it grown so quickly?
Jennifer Staple founded Unite for Sight in 2000 as a sophomore at Yale University. For three years, Unite For Sight coordinated eye screening and education for the medically underserved population of New Haven, Connecticut. In that time, a model program emerged. To reach more people in need, Unite for Sight started contacting university premedical advisers and student affairs offices with an invitation to start Unite for Sight chapters. Responses flooded in from students throughout the United States. Unite for Sight accepted chapter applications, provided training and manuals, and guided the growth of new chapters to implement vision screenings and education programs throughout North America and, eventually, four other continents.
What started with a single volunteer has now grown to a force of over 4,000 volunteers working through 90 chapters, based at universities, medical schools, corporations, and high schools worldwide, and delivering eye care screening and education programs to over 600,000. To date, Unite For Sight has sponsored 13685 sight-restoring cataract surgeries. Working with our partner ophthalmologists, we have also provided thousands of people with treatment for infections, glaucoma, pterygium, and refractive error.
What does Unite For Sight do?
Unite For Sight implements vision screening and education programs in North America and in developing countries. In North America, patients are connected with free health coverage programs so that they can receive an eye exam by a doctor. In Africa and Asia, Unite For Sight volunteers work with partner eye clinics to implement screening and free surgery programs.
Unite For Sight also organizes an annual international health conference for the exchange of ideas about eye care, international health, and social innovation. Open to the public, an audience of 2,200 from 5 continents attended the Fifth Annual Conference at Yale University in April 2008.
Has Unite For Sight been recognized for its achievements?
Because of our overwhelming success mobilizing youth volunteers, Unite For Sight has been featured weekly on CNN International from September 2007 through September 2008. Unite For Sight has been featured in the book Our Time is Now: Young People Changing the World and also been recognized for outstanding service by BRICK Awards, USA Today, Glamour Magazine, Nokia's and International Youth Foundation's YouthActionNet, Global Youth Action Network's Global Youth Action Award, Join Hands Day Excellence Award and the WK Kellogg Foundation. In recognition of our outstanding contributions to global public health, Unite for Sight has also secured financial support from the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Cure Glaucoma Foundation, Alcon Foundation, US Agency for International Development (USAID), Gary Bialis Fund of El Adobe Corporation, Exxon Corporation, JP Morgan, and we have received a Healthy Vision Community Award from National Eye Institute.
