SAN FRANCISCO, CA (MAY 9, 2023) – RestoringVision recently won its third Service for Sight grant from the Delta Gamma Foundation. The funding will support bringing vision services and eyeglasses to 270,000 low-income people in the United States.
The award supports correcting age-related near vision loss, otherwise known as presbyopia, and will reach people across 49 states living at or below 300% of the federal poverty line, and those who are uninsured and underinsured, including domestic indigenous communities on reservations.
Through RestoringVision’s programs, people in need of vision services and eyeglasses will regain the ability to see clearly, which will impact their productivity, their capacity to work and earn an income, their safety, their opportunities for education, their ability to care for their loved ones, and so much more.
“Thanks to the Delta Gamma Foundation’s dedication to protecting the gift of sight, the Service for Sight grant will support RestoringVision’s larger effort to empower over 270,000 people domestically in 2023,” said Pelin Munis, Ph.D., CEO of RestoringVision. “Access to eyeglasses is life-changing and we know that the ripple effects of clear vision impact individuals, families, and communities in so many ways.”
Delta Gamma is a women’s fraternity founded in 1873, before the use of the term “sorority”, and has since grown into one of the largest international women’s organizations, with more than 250,000 members, 150 collegiate chapters, and 200 alumnae groups.
“Delta Gamma Foundation is proud to have awarded RestoringVision a 2023 Service for Sight Grant and is inspired by their mission to expand eye health services. By doing so, RestoringVision is ensuring hundreds of thousands of people in need can receive the services and eyeglasses necessary to see clearly. With access and advocacy for the blind and visually impaired community at the forefront of Delta Gamma Foundation’s philanthropic mission, RestoringVision’s goals mirror those we hold close to our hearts. We cannot wait to see all the good RestoringVision does this year and beyond,” said Mariah Bockbrader, Foundation Programs Manager, Delta Gamma Foundation.
Delta Gamma’s philanthropy, Service for Sight, supports five schools founded by Delta Gammas and other North American organizations that provide access and advocacy for people in the blind or visually impaired community or who promote sight preservation and conservation.
This philanthropy has been at the heart of the Delta Gamma mission since 1936 when a member who was blind, Ruth Billow, Eta-Akron, petitioned to adopt “Aid to the Blind” as the organization’s official philanthropy.
RestoringVision is a global nonprofit dedicated to ending the global vision crisis and is seeking more philanthropic partners to help raise much-needed funds. The organization is committed to creating equitable access to vision services and eyeglasses, particularly for individuals living on less than $2 a day. One billion people have a vision impairment that could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed, 81% of which could be corrected with a simple pair of reading glasses. We address this by partnering with our unparalleled network of more than 2,500 NGOs and government partners to provide life-changing vision screenings and eyeglasses to millions of people who could not access them otherwise. RestoringVision has reached more than 24 million people in 147 countries since 2003. For more information, visit restoringvision.org.
CONTACT:
Stephanie Godward
Sr. Manager of Communications
and Marketing, RestoringVision
Phone: (415) 636-6973 ext. 103 EST
stephanie@restoringvision.org
