“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” Chinese Proverb translated into many languages and used by many cultures.

ASCRS Foundation Activities:

The ASCRS Foundation works in three important areas:
1) Humanitarian Eyecare,
2) Research and
3) Public Awareness/Education.

Why Your Donation is Needed Now:

Cataracts is the cause of over 50% of Third World Blindness.

In Ethiopia 4 million suffer from cataract blindness or low vision and in China 6.7 million are on waiting lists for cataract surgery. The ASCRS Foundation is working in both countries, providing care and training surgeons to break the cycle of blindness-induced poverty in poor and rural areas of the world that lack quality eye care.

Here at home, foundation research grants have funded over 60 studies for important first-step opthalmic research and our Eye Surgery Education Council website provides patients with an honest, non-branded information portal for learning about the benefits and risks of cataract and refractive surgery.

Your donation supports...

Humanitarian Eyecare

• Ethiopia: The ASCRS Foundation’s Robert Sinskey Eye Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia will treat 12,000 patients this year - a 20% increase from last year. In 2012 we will begin investigating an approach to increase the size of the Sinskey Eye Institute. Ethiopia is among the world’s poorest countries and it’s not uncommon for Sinskey Eye Institute patients to travel hundreds of miles for care.
• China: The ASCRS Foundation is working with Project Vision to train the next generation of rural Chinese cataract surgeons. With the backing of the Chinese Central Government over 100 small eye clinics will be built in outlying regions. The foundation and Project Vision have established four training centers to educate the surgeons and staff who will man the clinics.

Research—The ASCRS Foundation provides first-step seed money to explore new ideas. It’s our goal to foster innovative thinking and encourage the development of promising treatment options. Over $400,000 has been awarded through the foundation’s ongoing research initiative.

Public Awareness/Education—The foundation’s Eye Surgery Education Council provides accurate and unbiased information about ophthalmic surgical options at www.eyesurgeryeducation.org. We work to properly educate both the public and the press about cataract and refractive surgery, and to counterbalance much of the marginalized and agenda- driven material that now clutters the web.

2011 Projects:

• Expansion of the Robert Sinskey Eye Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• ASCRS Foundation/Project Vision Cataract Surgery Training Centers in China
• 22 Research Grants and Awards in 2011
• Continued Patient Education through the Eye Surgery Education Council and its web site