It’s not just another golf outing.
Teeing Off For Sight, the Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation’s annual fundraiser, netted more than $30,000 this year, and that money will help underwrite three current free eye clinics and one new one slated to open in August.
A total of 108 golfers participated in the event, held June 3 at the Blue Ash Golf Course. Fifth Third Bank was the event’s presenting sponsor. Taking first place was the team of John Dovich and Associates. Second-place honors went to RDI.
“It’s a major fundraiser, the primary supporter, for our outreach program,” says Patrick J. Ward, foundation president and chief executive officer. “We estimate that when all four clinics are in operation for a 12-month period, we will see approximately 2,000 patients a year. These are the community’s most vulnerable patients. Our vision clinics are their last hope to improve and in some cases, save, their vision.”
A guiding light toward improved vision for thousands of Greater Cincinnatians, the charitable foundation opened the region’s first free eye clinic for low-income and uninsured adults in 2008 in the basement of the Roselawn Lutheran Church. Powered by volunteer ophthalmologists and a modest staff, the Roselawn clinic’s overwhelming success led to the establishment of a second vision clinic in May 2015 – the St. Vincent DePaul Center in Cincinnati’s West End.
This year The Foundation plans to expand its services into Good Samaritan Hospital Free Health Clinic and the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
The Foundation also partners with the Richard S. Kerstine Vision Outreach Program, providing free eye screenings and lectures on protecting eye health to community and senior centers and churches. The CEIF also funds studies leading to new cures and improved eye disease treatments, genetic, surgical and ophthalmology research and pharmaceutical studies, and contributes to the education of eye healthcare professionals.
The Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation is located at 1945 CEI Drive in Blue Ash. For more information about the CEIF and how a donation makes a difference in the local community, or if you are interested in volunteer opportunities, contact the foundation by phone, 866.466.2343; by email, Foundation@CEIFoundation.org or visit www.ceifoundation.org.