Entrepreneurial Volunteering: Global Problem Solving
Volunteers Have The Thrill Of Experiencing And Contributing To Change On The Highest Level
Innovative Model of Volunteering: Volunteers Are Leaders Of Social Change
Unite For Sight motivates and encourages volunteers to be proactive and entrepreneurial, which enables them to make real, lasting change. Unite For Sight's volunteers are deeply involved and invested in being part of a high impact solution to preventable eye disease. While the volunteers are involved in incredible outreach programs that provide eye care to thousands globally every day, they also develop their own projects and programs that dovetail with Unite For Sight's outreach programs. The diverse talents, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit of Unite For Sight's volunteers help to develop and hone new approaches to the urgent preventable and curable eye care problems that afflict more than 36 million people worldwide.
While all volunteers do not develop and implement their own entrepreneurial ideas while volunteering with Unite For Sight, every volunteer is engaged in Unite For Sight's commitment to create real change. All volunteers provide support and assistance to ophthalmologists and eye clinics in developing countries, fundraise to restore sight to blind patients living in extreme poverty, transport eyeglasses and medical supplies to eye clinics, and raise awareness in their home communities about the urgent problem of preventable blindness.
Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to U.N. Secretary General Ban-ki Moon, Speaks About Getting Directly Involved In Global Problem Solving
Examples Of Unite For Sight Entrepreneurial Volunteers
Project Phokas
As a sophomore at Yale University, Michael Nedelman developed Project Phokas, a unique project to raise awareness about eye health. Michael Nedelman's project has since been featured at Unite For Sight's Annual Global Health Conference, as well as on CNN International and Voice of America.
Michael Nedelman raises awareness about global eye care needs by giving photo cameras to patients with newly restored sight. The patients, many of whom never used a camera before, took beautiful photos about what was important to them.
Unite For Sight Inspires Volunteers To Become Young Leaders of Social Change
As a rising sophomore at University of Pennsylvania, Sohani Amarasekera volunteered with Unite For Sight in Chennai, India and was immersed in Unite For Sight's effective global health and eye care programs. Inspired by her volunteer experience, Sohani returned home and immediately began developing her own unique project. She collaborated with clinics and the Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka to implement diabetic retinopathy screening clinics that are now providing care to 600 patients per month.
Middle School Students Across Continents
Connecticut middle school teacher Karen King volunteered with Unite For Sight in Accra, Ghana. Karen's participation with Unite For Sight led her to develop pen pal, fundraising, and photo journalism projects with her students in Connecticut. Karen's educational projects have made a tremendous impact on her own students in Connecticut as well as students at Carolyn A. Miller School at Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana.
 | CNN Feature: Middle School Students Connect Across Continents |
Research Studies
Unite For Sight volunteers who are undergraduate or graduate students oftentimes develop their own research studies that they pursue while volunteering. The idea, plan, and methods for the study are developed by the student with a faculty mentor at their home university institution, and they also receive Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from their university prior to implementing their study. Many students have presented and published the results of their research studies, thereby contributing to ideas and knowledge about eye care in the developing world.
Kristin Ow Chapman Discusses Her Research Project in Bihar, India
Presentations at Unite For Sight's Annual Global Health Conference
Unite For Sight annually invites its most stellar volunteers to give a presentation about eye care and their Unite For Sight experience at Unite For Sight's Annual Global Health Conference. The conference convenes more than 2,200 participants from all 50 states and from 60 countries. The volunteers speak about their perspectives on eye care, international volunteerism, and the importance of becoming engaged to solve global problems.
Education Projects
Case Western Reserve University Student Komal Patel developed an education project while volunteering at Kalinga Eye Hospital in Orissa, India. She identified a need to engage children and adults in preventive measures to prevent blindness, prompting her to work with the staff at Kalinga Eye Hospital to develop education programs for children and adults. For children, Komal developed care packages for distribution in Orissa schools. The packages include donated crayons from Crayola, donated flashlights, coloring books, and small plastic eye models. For adults, Komal developed an idea to generate a poster and educational presentations at the eye camps.
School Support Program
The entrepreneurial spirit of recent Stanford University graduate Emily Abrash led to Unite For Sight's involvement in and support of Bihar Netraheen Parishad School for Blind Girls. Seeing a need for financial support and assistance to the school while volunteering at A.B. Eye Institute in Bihar, Emily fundraised so that Unite For Sight could provide a grant to Bihar Netraheen Parishad, which was founded by ophthalmologists at A.B. Eye Institute. Details about the school can be seen at http://www.uniteforsight.org/what-we-do/education
CNN Special Feature: Unite For Sight Supporting India School For Blind Girls
Film Projects
While sophomores at Yale University, Rosh Sethi and Roshan Sethi volunteered in New Delhi, India. They realized that Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital could benefit from a short film about their extraordinary services to patients living in extreme poverty. They devoted much of their time at the eye clinic to creating a film about the eye hospital that continues to be used by the clinic on an ongoing basis.
Photo Projects
Dartmouth MPH Student Taygan Yilmaz created a self-published photo book entitled Eye Care Community Outreach: The Ghanaian Experience. He created the book to raise awareness about eye care needs, and the book is now required reading for all Unite For Sight volunteers prior to their participation abroad.
