Nov 18, 2025
The Irving S. Gilmore Foundation has once again provided generous support to help ensure cornea tissue recovery and placement in Kalamazoo County—honoring the wishes of local donors and restoring sight for patients in need.
In 2024, Eversight worked with the families of 171 Kalamazoo County residents who gave the gift of sight as eye donors and local surgeons relied on Eversight to provide 33 tissues for safe transplantation for Kalamazoo County residents in need.
“Every gift from our communities bring us closer to a world without blindness,” said Lora Cabarios, Vice President of Philanthropy, Eversight. “The Irving S. Gilmore Foundation’s support ensures that more people in Kalamazoo County have access to sight-restoring corneal transplants, while honoring the generosity of local donors and their families who make these miracles possible.”
Eversight recovers, prepares and provides donated eye tissue for more than 7,500 corneal transplants each year and is the only nonprofit organization recovering and providing donated cornea tissue for transplant in Michigan.
“As Michigan’s only eye bank, Eversight is proud to serve as the bridge between compassionate donor families and patients whose lives are transformed through the gift of sight,” said Cabarios. “This support helps us carry out the essential, hands-on work of cornea tissue recovery and preparation that turns hope into healing for people right here in our community.”
The Irving S. Gilmore Foundation works to support and enrich the cultural, social and economic life of greater Kalamazoo through priorities including human services, health and well-being.
Eversight is honored to receive support from the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation for the third year. Their ongoing investment has helped enable 27 Kalamazoo County residents to give the gift of sight. To help continue this impact, you can make a gift at eversightvision.org/give.
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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