Eyeworld

FOCUSING ON THE THREE PILLARS OF THE SOCIETY 40 | SUPPLEMENT TO EYEWORLD Giving back with the gi of sight Establishing and growing the ASCRS Foundation When AIOIS was formed, it was classified as a 501(c)(3), a foundation. But when Mr. Karcher came on board, he started the process of changing it to a 501(c)(6), while still keeping the 501(c)(3) status to establish the ASCRS Foundation. e ASCRS Foundation was largely dormant until the late 1990s/early 2000s, Mr. Karcher said. e So- ciety went through a successful fundraising effort, with some money earmarked for specific projects like the Sin- skey Eye Institute in Ethiopia. e Sinskey Eye Institute was established in Ethiopia as an initiative of the ASCRS Foundation. Source: ASCRS ASCRS and ASOA established the Party for a Purpose in 2022 and now host it each year at the Annual Meeting as a fundraising event for the ASCRS Foundation. Source: ASCRS Operation Sight, the ASCRS Foundation's domestic charitable cataract surgery program, has helped facilitate more than 10,000 surgeries among its network of more than 750 volunteers. Source: ASCRS ASCRS' main focus internationally now is to en- courage the development of the skills of eye surgeons worldwide and create world-class medical centers, work- ing with partnership organizations to accomplish both and create lasting change for the treatment of global cat- aract blindness. e ASCRS Foundation is also known for its domestic initiatives with Operation Sight. Originally piloted by Kerry Solomon, MD, and his wife Cindy, this program was launched in 2014 to serve financially vulnerable, uninsured individuals who cannot afford or access care. To date, nearly 10,000 charitable cataract surgeries have been performed through Operation Sight's network of more than 750 volunteers. Many ASCRS members are volunteer surgeons and also donate financially to the cause.

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