ILLINOIS, Feb. 28, 2024 – The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL) with support from the Dr. Louis and Violet Rubin Fund, has awarded Eversight a $5,750 grant to support clinical operations that will help Eversight honor donor wishes through sight-saving transplants for northern Illinois residents.
“Cornea transplantation can give meaning to the donor families who have lost a loved one,” said Becky Harris, Philanthropy Director of Foundations & Corporations, Eversight. “Knowing that their loved one was able to give someone the gift of sight, many donor families say this provides them some comfort during a very difficult time. With the Foundation’s support, we can honor the intent of a donor’s gift and change more lives in northern Illinois.”
In 2023, more than 2,400 Illinois donors and their families gave the gift of sight for transplantation, research and education. In the same year, over 1,300 tissues were provided for sight-saving cornea transplants and over 1,500 tissues were recovered for research and education in Illinois.
This gift will allow Eversight to work with 10 northern Illinois cornea donors and their families, and fully prepare one tissue for transplant within the region.
“This grant is special, not only because it is the first time CFNIL has had the privilege to award a grant to Eversight, but also because the outcomes and impact of the project are so tangible and specific,” said Dan Ross, CFNIL President. “It is humbling to know these dollars will facilitate support for 10 local families and the gift of sight for an individual right here in our community.”
The mission of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois is to inspire endowment and promote philanthropy for the current and future needs of the people of Northern Illinois. Since its founding in 1953 CFNIL has granted more than $85 million for charitable purposes.
About Eversight
Eversight is a nonprofit organization with a mission to restore sight and prevent blindness through the healing power of donation, transplantation and research. The Eversight network is responsible for recovering, evaluating and providing human eye tissue for transplantation; supporting research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions; promoting donation awareness through public and professional education; and providing humanitarian aid to people around the world in need of corneal transplantation. Operating in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and South Korea, Eversight works in collaboration with surgeons, researchers, academic medical centers and eye banks across the United States and abroad. For more information, visit eversightvision.org.
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