Unite For Sight Fact Sheet and Story Angles
Organization Founded: 2000
International Programs Founded: 2004
Global Health & Innovation Conference Founded: 2004
Eye Care Services Provided To: 900,000
Sight-Restoring Cataract Surgeries Provided By Local Eye Clinic Partners:30,896
Fellows Trained To Eliminate Preventable Blindness: 6,700
Story Angles
Unite For Sight was founded by Jennifer Staple-Clark in her dorm room when she was a sophomore at Yale University. Now Jennifer is 28, and she has grown the organization to be a global nonprofit organization that has provided eye care to 900,000 people in North America, Africa, and Asia. A visionary and social entrepreneur, Jennifer Staple was featured in Nicholas D. Kristof's "The Age of Ambition" article in The New York Times on January 27, 2008, and she received the American Institute of Public Service's 2009 National Jefferson Award For Public Service, which is regarded as the "Nobel Prize" for public service.
Since 2003, Unite For Sight has trained more than 6,700 fellows to eliminate preventable blindness in their local community and abroad. These fellows annually contribute 80,000 volunteer hours of service to eliminating preventable blindness and restoring sight. The work of these fellows is vitally important, and the result of their work is profound. In addition to Unite For Sight's measurable impact, there is an equally compelling achievement. The organization has found a way to unite doctors, students, and other people, especially younger people, across borders, across economic status, and across professional lines.
Unite For Sight has provided eye care to 900,000 people worldwide and coordinated and funded more than 30,896 sight-restoring surgeries for patients living in extreme poverty in Africa and Asia. The Unite For Sight international programs are locally led and managed by ophthalmologists at partner eye clinics. The patients go from being completely blind to having their sight entirely restored by a 15-minute operation. 80% of all blindness is preventable, and 36 million people worldwide are needlessly blind. Unite For Sight's goal is to create a lasting impact and reduce the number of people living with unnecessary blindness. Unite For Sight sponsors all of the eye care programs, including providing patients with free surgery, so that no patient remains blind due to lack of funds.
Unite For Sight applies best practices in eye care, public health, and volunteerism to achieve our goal of high quality eye care for all. The programs are locally led and managed by ophthalmologists at Unite For Sight's partner eye clinics. Unite For Sight's international eye care services with partner local eye clinics are comprehensive, including examinations by local eye doctors, diagnosis and care for all treatable conditions, promotion, and prevention. This full range of services is delivered to the popuation year-round. Outreach services are brought to the people in their villages, in some cases including villages seven or more hours from the clinic. These patients are provided with follow up care by our outreach teams regularly throughout the year.
Unite For Sight's Four Program Divisions
Unite For Sight's unwavering commitment to creating real, lasting impact involves four types of innovative programs.
- International Eye Care Programs and Global Impact Corps: Unite For Sight supports eye clinics worldwide by investing human and financial resources in their social ventures to eliminate patient barriers to eye care. Unite For Sight applies best practices in eye care, public health, volunteerism, and social entrepreneurship to achieve our goal of high quality eye care for all. To date, we have provided eye care services to more than 900,000 people worldwide. The eye clinic's local eye doctors diagnose and treat eye disease in the field, and surgical patients are brought to the eye clinic for surgery. Unite For Sight sponsors all of the eye care programs, including providing patients with free surgery so that no patient remains blind due to lack of funds.
Unite For Sight's Global Impact Corps is an immersive global health experience for students and professionals. Global Impact Fellows are engaged in cutting-edge global health programs and are immersed in the field of social entrepreneurship. They gain hands-on training about effective global health program delivery and the opportuities and challenges facing social entrepreneurs and clinicians in developing countries. On a daily basis, Global Impact Fellows assist local ophthalmic nurses and optometrists in all aspects of the eye care programs, including taking patient history, testing visual acuity, distributing medication and eyeglasses prescribed by the local eye doctors, patient education, and helping with data collection and analysis. Prior to participating abroad, Global Impact Fellows are required to complete Unite For Sight's Global Impact Training, which includes training in cultural competency, global health, social entreprenreurship, community eye health, volunteer ethics and professionalism, and other similar topics. - Community Fellows Program in North America: Unite For Sight's 1,000 Community Fellows in university chapters are trained to reduce barriers to care by serving as advocates for community members. Community Fellows educate community members about the importance of receiving regular eye exams to prevent blindness. They connect community members with resources so that they can receive a complete eye exam through professional organizations such as American Academy of Ophthalmology (EyeCare America) and American Optometric Association (VisionUSA). By connecting community members with available free care by eye care professionals, the Community Fellows are helping community members to eliminate preventable blindness.
- GH/Innovate 2010, Global Health & Innovation Conference: This annual conference is the world's leader for global health innovation, and it annually convenes more than 2,200 participants from all 50 states and from more than 55 countries. This conference provides tools to identify global problems, engage in social entreprneurship, and create change and real solutions.
- Global Health University: Unite For Sight's Global Health University is designed to develop and nurture the next generation of global health leaders. Global Health University helps to effect widespread innovative change in global health through comprehensive training workshops, fellowship and internship opportunities in the U.S. and abroad, and online courses.
Important Facts About Unite For Sight
- Unite For Sight is the world's leader in socially responsible, effective volunteering and also a leader in providing cost-effective care to the world's poorest people.
- Unite For Sight is not a "medical mission". Unite For Sight does not provide short-term programs or interventions. Unite For Sight supports local eye clinics that provide eye care to patients living in extreme poverty on a daily basis and year-round.
- Unite For Sight applies best practices in eye care, public health, and volunteerism to achieve high quality eye care for all.
- Unite For Sight works with local eye clinic partners to create and implement effective, sustainable, year-long eye care programs.
- The eye care services are comprehensive, including examinations by local eye doctors, diagnosis and care for all treatable conditions, and prevention. This full range of services is delivered to the population year-round.
- Outreach services are brought to the people in their villages, whether those remote areas are 1 hour from the local eye clinic, or 7 hours from the clinic.
- All eye care and surgeries are provided by local eye doctors who are highly skilled and trained.
- Unite For Sight's volunteers (Global Impact Fellows) support and assist local eye clinics and their ophthalmic staff.
- Unite For Sight runs a highly effective and efficient organization, and 100% of all donations go directly to providing eye care for patients living in extreme poverty.
Media Contacts
For Unite For Sight logo, photographs, video footage, and other requests, please contact ufs@uniteforsight.org
Website: www.uniteforsight.org
Media Contact: ufs@uniteforsight.org, (203) 404-4900