Eyeworld

10 | EYEWORLD | SEPTEMBER 2020 ASCRS FOUNDATION NEWS ASCRS NEWS Contact Minhas: jminhas@ascrs.org by Jaya Minhas ASCRS Foundation Program Manager volume of patients qualifying for charitable cat- aract surgery, the need to expand our volunteer network has never been greater. Stay tuned for future updates as Operation Sight unveils new volunteer and program aware- ness opportunities for National Sight Week. For more information or to get involved, visit ascrsfoundation.org or contact Jaya Minhas at jminhas@ascrs.org. Chang Humanitarian Award We are proud to announce Lowell A. Gess, MD, as the 3rd annual recipient of the ASCRS Foundation's Chang Humanitarian Award. Unfortunately, with the cancellation of the 2020 ASCRS Annual Meeting in Boston, we were unable to recognize Dr. Gess' life's work during the Opening General Session. The Foundation instead chose to honor and celebrate Dr. Gess virtually to coincide with his 99th birthday in July. Visit the ASCRS Foundation website to read his incredible story and watch the inter- view with Dr. Gess and Dr. Chang. Endowed by a generous gift from David and Victoria Chang, the ASCRS Foundation Chang Humanitarian Award was established to honor and recognize outstanding humanitari- an work in the area of cataract blindness. The recipient is recognized at the ASCRS Annual Meeting and a $50,000 prize is awarded in their honor to a charitable ophthalmology organiza- tion of their choice. The nomination period for the 2021 award is August 11, 2020–October 15, 2020. T he ASCRS Foundation is commit- ted to its domestic and international philanthropic mission. We are excited to share updates on how the ophthal- mic community's continued support has enabled us to work through these unprecedented times. Operation Sight: 2020 National Sight Week The ASCRS Foundation is excited to resume its Operation Sight program, placing American cataract surgery patients in need with volunteer members of our surgical network. We've seen a dramatic increase in applications resulting from the employment, insurance, and economic impacts of the pandemic. Operation Sight will celebrate its 5th National Sight Week, which will be held Oc- tober 18–24. National Sight Week recognizes volunteerism across the U.S. and works to raise awareness of cataract blindness. During this week, we highlight the generosity and power of the ophthalmology community to change lives through charitable cataract surgery. This year, the ASCRS Foundation will expand its focus to encourage all members of the ophthalmic community to participate in a unified effort to shorten the Operation Sight patient waitlist, tar- get recruitment within areas of increased need, and celebrate the impact of volunteerism. We'll work together to harness the power of physi- cians, administrators, and staff to create positive change in their own communities. With a higher The ASCRS Foundation pushes forward continued on page 12

• Blank Page
• Blank Page (1)