CBI Celebrates Success on World Sight Day 2019

Combat Blindness International’s World Sight Day gala at Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison, Wis. was a tremendous success! More than 200 supporters, donors and friends turned out for the Oct. 10 event, an annual day of awareness that focuses global attention on blindness and vision impairment. For those in attendance, it was a time to connect, socialize and celebrate CBI’s 35 years of success in reducing blindness throughout the world.

Our founder, Suresh R. Chandra, MD, shared his heartfelt reflections and deep gratitude for CBI’s dedicated supporters, especially Diane Ballweg and The Hurckman Family Foundation, in partnership with Hurckman Mechanical Industries, for providing a generous $100,000 matching opportunity in honor of World Sight Day. We remain deeply grateful for everyone’s contributions that helped us reach our goal, resulting in a total of over $200,000 in matched funds.

“Your generosity helps create a more equitable world by reaching those who need it most, from India, to Botswana, to Brazil and right here in Wisconsin.”- Peter Holm, CBI Board Member

One of the main highlights was a panel discussion focusing on CBI’s collaborative support for our partners in bringing vision to the underserved. Three of our partners traveled all the way from India to participate: Umang Mathur, MD, Executive Director of Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital in New Delhi; R.D. Sriram, Managing Director of Aurolab in Madurai; and K.V. Ravishankar, MD, Managing Director of Usha Kiran Eye Hospital in Mysore. Other panelists were Dr. Chandra, and founding CBI Board Member Richard Langer, JD, Partner at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP.

The evening’s festivities closed with an inspiring address by CBI Board Member Peter Holm, MD. Thanks to all who made our World Sight Day so memorable and impactful!