ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Eversight, Michigan’s only nonprofit eye bank, has received a $5,000 grant from the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation to purchase critical sight-saving recovery supplies. This funding ensures that donor families in Berrien and Cass counties can give the precious gift of sight through corneal donation.
Through this generous support, Eversight will be able to honor the wishes of up to 18 local donors—helping as many as 36 people receive sight-restoring corneal transplants.
“Every year, the Eversight team works around the clock to recover, prepare and provide donated corneal tissue for thousands of patients in need,” said Lora Cabarios, Eversight Vice President of Philanthropy. “This grant from the Foundation will support Eversight as we purchase specialized recovery kits for our clinical technicians to use during the recovery process, a vital first step in ensuring safe, successful transplants.”
In 2024, 58 residents of Berrien and Cass counties gave the selfless gift of sight, enabling up to 116 people to receive life-changing corneal transplants.
“Behind every transplant is a donor and donor family who made the courageous choice to give the gift of sight,” Cabarios said. “This funding helps us honor those donors and their families’ legacies while transforming lives through restored vision.”
Blinding eye diseases affect more than 80 million Americans, and vision impairment can have a profound impact on a person’s ability to work, learn and connect with others. Through partnerships with generous organizations like the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation, Eversight continues to meet the growing need for sight-saving care in Michigan and beyond.
“At Michigan Gateway Community Foundation, we believe in the power of partnerships that change lives. Eversight’s work in restoring sight and advancing eye health is an extraordinary example of compassion in action throughout South Berrien and Cass Counties,” said Michael Rowland, President & CEO, Michigan Gateway Community Foundation. “Their dedication to improving vision not only transforms individuals—it strengthens communities. We are proud to recognize and support their life-changing mission.”
The Michigan Gateway Community Foundation’s mission is to foster a community of philanthropy, for good, forever, through their vision of creating a strong, vibrant, caring community.
To join the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation in supporting Eversight’s mission, visit 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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