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.
