EW NEWS & OPINION
4
May 2016
for Sight is such an important
partnership to me. Being blind in a
developing country can be a death
sentence. For me to be able to bring
awareness to the global blindness is-
sue and help others see is amazing."
With Ms. Franklin and Mr.
Snyder pledging their support, the
Feilmeiers approached the ASCRS
Foundation about partnering to raise
funds and deliver care. Ethiopia has
one of the highest rates of cataract
blindness in the world, and in ad-
dition to supporting its full-service
Sinskey Eye Institute, the ASCRS
Foundation collaborates with the Hi-
malayan Cataract Project in efforts
to support and improve training of
ophthalmologists in the country.
ASCRS Foundation continued from page 3
A Swim for Sight poster featuring Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin aims to encourage
$25 patient donations.
Source: Swim for Sight, University of Nebraska
Cataract patients treated at a Himalayan Cataract Project outreach camp in Harar, Ethiopia
Source: Matt Oliva, MD, Himalayan Cataract Project
This issue of EyeWorld includes
a Swim for Sight/ASCRS Founda-
tion poster in the U.S. mailing. "We
hope you'll consider displaying this
in your waiting room as a way to
engage patients about the incred-
ible opportunity to reduce global
blindness by providing the cataract
surgeries that everyone here takes
for granted," Dr. Chang said. By
donating $1,000 to this program
through the ASCRS Foundation,
ASCRS member practices can also
become partners in the Swim for
Sight program. Partner practices
will receive a 20"x30" Swim for
Sight waiting room poster custom-
ized with the practice or physician
name and Ms. Franklin's image. "It's
a wonderful way to educate your
