The Eye Surgeons’ Foundation is raising funds to support research projects that will help end preventable blindness during its 10th annual month of JulEYE.
The Eye Surgeons’ Foundation is a national not-for-profit organisation that funds medical research, education and training, and sustainable development for indigenous communities in Australia and across Asia Pacific.
Since 2002 the Foundation has supported more than 200 eye research projects and raised more than AU$21.4 million for vision initiatives. This year it hopes to fund five new promising research projects.
“The money raised will be spent on research focused on finding new answers and developing new treatments,” said Lisa Cheng, CEO of The Eye Surgeons’ Foundation. “It is only through continued community support and fundraising that eye surgeons and scientists can continue their world-class research to develop pioneering treatments and cures for often debilitating eye diseases.”
More than 453,000 Australians are blind or vision impaired1 by eye diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and rare eye diseases, so there has never been a more important time to focus on donations to help develop cures and treatments.
Kirk Pengilly, former INXS band member and long-time JulEYE Ambassador, knows first-hand the importance of eye research. “At 27, I almost lost my sight to glaucoma – had it not been for the pioneering eye research and surgery that saved my sight, my life would have been very different,” he said. “That’s why I support JulEYE and the vital funding it provides to develop life-changing treatments and cures for eye disease.”
Ms. Cheng said 75 per cent of Australians who are vision impaired don’t need to be and the remaining 25 per cent need cures. “It is up to us as Australians to invest in the future of our sight and the sight of others with donations that fund vital research that will deliver profound and lasting outcomes in eye health, for now and for generations to come”.
To register and donate to help end preventable blindness, visit www.juleye.com.au or www.eyesurgeonsfoundation.org.au
