Fight for Sight (U.S.)
Encyclopedia
Fight for Sight is a nonprofit organization
in the United States which funds medical research in vision
and ophthalmology
. It was formed in 1946 as the National Council to Combat Blindness (NCCB), the first non-profit in the United States to fund vision research; 2011 marked its 65th anniversary.
Based in New York City, Fight for Sight provides funding and acknowledgment to promising scientist
s early in their eye research careers, before they are eligible for government support
from the National Institutes of Health
. Grants are made in three main categories: Post-Doctoral Fellowships to those with a Ph.D., M.D., O.D., Dr.PH, or D.V.M.; Grants-in-Aid to junior professors
at research universities, and Summer Student Fellowships to medical students, graduate students, and undergraduate students.
Led by its Scientific Review Committee selection process, the organization provides funding for eye and vision diseases and conditions. Fight for Sight has provided support directly or indirectly to major advances in ophthalmology and vision research, including donor cornea preservation, ophthalmic lasers, glaucoma
therapies, genetic research, and the Intraocular Lens
(IOL).
Early on, Fight for Sight helped create national awareness and funds for vision research outside of its own fundraising when organization founder Mildred Weisenfeld
coordinated testimony on eye research to Congress in 1949, leading to the creation of the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Blindness, and in December 1968 the establishment of the National Eye Institute
(NEI) in the National Institutes of Health
(NIH).
Although a modest foundation not exceeding $5 million in annual endowment, Fight for Sight had given out more than $20 million in grants to over 3,000 eye researchers by 2009. Fight for Sight celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2011.
Organizational partnerships with Fight for Sight include The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration, Streilein Foundation for Ocular Immunology, the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society, and WomensEyeHealth.org.
Fight for Sight in the U.S. is unaffiliated with the younger Fight for Sight (U.K.)
or in Ireland.
at the University of Pennsylvania
, Arthur Jampolsky, MD (1952), whose efforts led to the creation of the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, A. Edward Maumenee, MD (1958) director of the Wilmer Eye Institute, founder of the Eye Bank Association of America and potent force behind the creation of the NEI at the National Institutes of Health
, Carl Kupfer, MD (1961), Director of the NEI for 30 years, László Bitó, PhD (1965), who developed the glaucoma drug Xalatan, Robert Machemer, MD (1966) the “father” of modern retinal surgery, Irene H. Maumenee, MD (1973) internationally renowned pediatric ophthalmologist and expert in hereditary eye diseases, David Abramson, MD (1979), renowned for his expertise in treating childhood eye tumors, Paul Sieving, MD, PhD (1980), current Director of the NEI and Jayakrishna Ambati, MD (2002), winner of the ARVO Cogan Award, given for significant scientific accomplishments to a scientist under 40 years old.
, who lost her vision to retinitis pigmentosa
two years before starting the nonprofit. Weisenfeld lead the organization as Executive Director for 50 years, from 1946-1996. Among other notable leaders at Fight for Sight were board president Herbert Tenzer
, who had been a member of the United States House of Representatives
, and comedian Bob Hope
who was an honorary chairman from 1960. Other honorary board members included Milton Berle
, Ed Sullivan
and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Weisenfeld was honored many times for her lifelong work in bringing awareness and funding to eye research. On Fight for Sight's 25th anniversary in 1971, she was recognized by congratulatory letters from President Richard Nixon
and Fight for Sight supporter New York City Mayor John Lindsay
.
The industry group ARVO (Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology) honored Fight for Sight's founder by establishing the Weisenfeld Award for Excellence in Ophthalmology in 1986, to annually recognize individuals for scholarly contributions to clinical ophthalmology.
Long term leaders of the board included Hon. Richard Lane and Kenneth Barasch, M.D.
Founder Mildred Weisenfeld, along with blind Attorney General William E. Powers, presented a Norman Rockwell painting to President Harry Truman on Sept. 19, 1950, to honor his signing of legislation aiding the blind. In the same year, Weisenfeld and wealthy New York entrepreneur Mary Lasker
encouraged adding the word "blindness" to the founding title of The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Blindness (NINDB), now the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
.
Summer Student Fellowships and Post-Doctoral awards were added by the organization in 1955 to encourage young investigators into ophthalmic research, providing a sort of funding "ladder" leading up to Grants-In-Aid.
The name Fight for Sight was officially adopted by the organization in late 1959, and gradually replaced use of the original name National Council to Combat Blindness.
In 1983-84, Fight for Sight had a one-year moratorium on new awards to assess its giving strategy. For a period from 1983–1988, the Fight for Sight Awards Program was then administered in association with ARVO, assisted by Arthur M. Silverstein, PhD, of Johns Hopkins. Then in 1988-2002, Fight for Sight affiliated with National Society to Prevent Blindness (which became Prevent Blindness America after 1992) as a "research division," during which ARVO still assisted with the selection of grant recipients. NSPB/PBA contributed funding. In 2003, Fight for Sight returned to selecting grant recipients though its own independent Scientific Review Committee.
The event launched with the support of Milton Berle
, and later led by Bob Hope
, with Earl Wilson (columnist)
and Harry Helmsley
as co-Chairman. Honorary Members included Sammy Davis Junior and New York City Mayors John Lindsay
and Abraham Beame
, as well as Jacob K. Javits
, the United States Senator from New York. Events included Barbra Streisand
, Stevie Wonder
, Liza Minnelli
, Yul Brynner
, Earl Wilson, Harry Belafonte
, Jackie Mason
, Ed Sullivan
, Pearl Bailey
, Mel Allen
, Peter Falk
, Paul Anka
, Eartha Kitt
, Tony Randall
, Tommy Smothers, Joe Frazier
, Jerry Stiller
, Carol Channing
, Peggy Lee
, Kitty Carlisle, and many others. In the early 1960s, Fannie Hurst
served as Honorary Chairman of the Women's Division of "Lights On."
In 1960 Bob Hope led a coast-to-coast telecast for Fight for Sight and donated $100,000 to establish the Bob Hope Fight for Sight Fund.
In 2003, Olympic medalist figure skater Nancy Kerrigan
became a Fight for Sight spokeswoman.
another at Mount Sinai Hospital
), Miami (Bascom Palmer Eye Institute), one in Pittsburgh (Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh), three in Philadelphia (Wills Eye Hospital, Temple University School of Medicine
and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
), and Newark, NJ (Eye Institute of New Jersey, UMDNJ-University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
). The Fight for Sight Children's Eye Center at Columbia is thought to have been the second eye clinic for children in the United States.
Fight for Sight also supported general eye clinics, such as the Harkness Eye Institute at Columbia University, the Philadelphia Geriatric Clinic, and New York–Presbyterian Hospital.
Overseas in the 1960s, Fight for Sight also supported a Mobile Eye Clinic in Jerusalem, Israel
, for treatment and eradication of trachoma
, and an eye bank at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College, a corneal research project in Indore
, India, and research in Japan, Korea, Turkey, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, The Netherlands, England, Argentina, Mexico, and Uganda.
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
in the United States which funds medical research in vision
Visual system
The visual system is the part of the central nervous system which enables organisms to process visual detail, as well as enabling several non-image forming photoresponse functions. It interprets information from visible light to build a representation of the surrounding world...
and ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...
. It was formed in 1946 as the National Council to Combat Blindness (NCCB), the first non-profit in the United States to fund vision research; 2011 marked its 65th anniversary.
Based in New York City, Fight for Sight provides funding and acknowledgment to promising scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s early in their eye research careers, before they are eligible for government support
Research funding
Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of both "hard" science and technology and social science. The term often connotes funding obtained through a competitive process, in which potential research projects are evaluated and only the most...
from the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
. Grants are made in three main categories: Post-Doctoral Fellowships to those with a Ph.D., M.D., O.D., Dr.PH, or D.V.M.; Grants-in-Aid to junior professors
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at research universities, and Summer Student Fellowships to medical students, graduate students, and undergraduate students.
Led by its Scientific Review Committee selection process, the organization provides funding for eye and vision diseases and conditions. Fight for Sight has provided support directly or indirectly to major advances in ophthalmology and vision research, including donor cornea preservation, ophthalmic lasers, glaucoma
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which the optic nerve suffers damage, permanently damaging vision in the affected eye and progressing to complete blindness if untreated. It is often, but not always, associated with increased pressure of the fluid in the eye...
therapies, genetic research, and the Intraocular Lens
Intraocular lens
An intraocular lens is an implanted lens in the eye, usually replacing the existing crystalline lens because it has been clouded over by a cataract, or as a form of refractive surgery to change the eye's optical power. It usually consists of a small plastic lens with plastic side struts, called...
(IOL).
Early on, Fight for Sight helped create national awareness and funds for vision research outside of its own fundraising when organization founder Mildred Weisenfeld
Mildred Weisenfeld
Mildred Mosler Weisenfeld is the Brooklyn-born founder of national not-for-profit foundation the National Council to Combat Blindness in 1946, now known as Fight for Sight, an organization based in New York City that provides initial funds to promising scientists early in their careers...
coordinated testimony on eye research to Congress in 1949, leading to the creation of the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Blindness, and in December 1968 the establishment of the National Eye Institute
National Eye Institute
The National Eye Institute is one of the US National Institutes of Health that was established in 1968. The mission of NEI is to prolong and protect the vision of the American people. The NEI conducts and performs research into treating and preventing diseases affecting the eye or vision....
(NEI) in the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
(NIH).
Although a modest foundation not exceeding $5 million in annual endowment, Fight for Sight had given out more than $20 million in grants to over 3,000 eye researchers by 2009. Fight for Sight celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2011.
Organizational partnerships with Fight for Sight include The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration, Streilein Foundation for Ocular Immunology, the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society, and WomensEyeHealth.org.
Fight for Sight in the U.S. is unaffiliated with the younger Fight for Sight (U.K.)
Fight for Sight (U.K.)
Fight for Sight is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to funding world-class research into the prevention and treatment of blindness and eye disease....
or in Ireland.
Notable Fight for Sight Alumni
Numerous leaders in eye and vision research and academia received a Fight for Sight grant early in their careers, including Harold Scheie, MD (1950), who founded the Scheie Eye InstituteScheie Eye Institute
The Scheie Eye Institute is the department of ophthalmology of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located within the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and is a leading center for research and treatment of disorders of the eye. In 2007, Scheie was the leading...
at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, Arthur Jampolsky, MD (1952), whose efforts led to the creation of the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, A. Edward Maumenee, MD (1958) director of the Wilmer Eye Institute, founder of the Eye Bank Association of America and potent force behind the creation of the NEI at the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, Carl Kupfer, MD (1961), Director of the NEI for 30 years, László Bitó, PhD (1965), who developed the glaucoma drug Xalatan, Robert Machemer, MD (1966) the “father” of modern retinal surgery, Irene H. Maumenee, MD (1973) internationally renowned pediatric ophthalmologist and expert in hereditary eye diseases, David Abramson, MD (1979), renowned for his expertise in treating childhood eye tumors, Paul Sieving, MD, PhD (1980), current Director of the NEI and Jayakrishna Ambati, MD (2002), winner of the ARVO Cogan Award, given for significant scientific accomplishments to a scientist under 40 years old.
FFS Leaders
The organization's identity has been closely aligned with its founder Mildred WeisenfeldMildred Weisenfeld
Mildred Mosler Weisenfeld is the Brooklyn-born founder of national not-for-profit foundation the National Council to Combat Blindness in 1946, now known as Fight for Sight, an organization based in New York City that provides initial funds to promising scientists early in their careers...
, who lost her vision to retinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of genetic eye conditions that leads to incurable blindness. In the progression of symptoms for RP, night blindness generally precedes tunnel vision by years or even decades. Many people with RP do not become legally blind until their 40s or 50s and retain some...
two years before starting the nonprofit. Weisenfeld lead the organization as Executive Director for 50 years, from 1946-1996. Among other notable leaders at Fight for Sight were board president Herbert Tenzer
Herbert Tenzer
Herbert Tenzer was an American Democratic Party politician, who served two terms of office in the United States House of Representatives....
, who had been a member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, and comedian Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
who was an honorary chairman from 1960. Other honorary board members included Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
, Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
Weisenfeld was honored many times for her lifelong work in bringing awareness and funding to eye research. On Fight for Sight's 25th anniversary in 1971, she was recognized by congratulatory letters from President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
and Fight for Sight supporter New York City Mayor John Lindsay
John Lindsay
John Vliet Lindsay was an American politician, lawyer and broadcaster who was a U.S. Congressman, Mayor of New York City, candidate for U.S...
.
The industry group ARVO (Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology) honored Fight for Sight's founder by establishing the Weisenfeld Award for Excellence in Ophthalmology in 1986, to annually recognize individuals for scholarly contributions to clinical ophthalmology.
Long term leaders of the board included Hon. Richard Lane and Kenneth Barasch, M.D.
History
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote about the NCCB in its first year of existence, drawing attention to the goal of raising $50,000 for eye clinics and treat retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Experimental treatments funded by NCCB began the first year at New York Hospital and the N.Y. Medical College of Flower-Fifth Avenue on a few hundred people with RP.Founder Mildred Weisenfeld, along with blind Attorney General William E. Powers, presented a Norman Rockwell painting to President Harry Truman on Sept. 19, 1950, to honor his signing of legislation aiding the blind. In the same year, Weisenfeld and wealthy New York entrepreneur Mary Lasker
Mary Lasker
Mary Woodard Lasker was an American health activist. She worked to raise funds for medical research, and founded the Lasker Foundation....
encouraged adding the word "blindness" to the founding title of The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Blindness (NINDB), now the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is a part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health . It conducts and funds research on brain and nervous system disorders and has a budget of just over US$1.5 billion...
.
Summer Student Fellowships and Post-Doctoral awards were added by the organization in 1955 to encourage young investigators into ophthalmic research, providing a sort of funding "ladder" leading up to Grants-In-Aid.
The name Fight for Sight was officially adopted by the organization in late 1959, and gradually replaced use of the original name National Council to Combat Blindness.
In 1983-84, Fight for Sight had a one-year moratorium on new awards to assess its giving strategy. For a period from 1983–1988, the Fight for Sight Awards Program was then administered in association with ARVO, assisted by Arthur M. Silverstein, PhD, of Johns Hopkins. Then in 1988-2002, Fight for Sight affiliated with National Society to Prevent Blindness (which became Prevent Blindness America after 1992) as a "research division," during which ARVO still assisted with the selection of grant recipients. NSPB/PBA contributed funding. In 2003, Fight for Sight returned to selecting grant recipients though its own independent Scientific Review Committee.
Fight for Sight leagues
In 1949, Fight for Sight started a "women's division" which later turned into a few dozen local women's auxiliary leagues in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida. During their height in the 1980s, they contributed up to $330,000 annually. New York state included one in Manhattan; several in Brooklyn: Park Circle, Bensonhurst, Flatbush, Sheepshead, Shorefront; in Queens: North Shore, Rockaways, Seaside; and others in the Bronx, Westchester, and Long Island (Nassau), there was one for Northern NJ, several in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: Greater, Main Line, Mount Airy, Cheltenham, and Northeast) and five in Florida (South Palm Beach, Hollywood, Delray Beach, Deerfield Beach, Greater Miami)."Lights On" Fundraiser, Celebrity Supporters
The annual Fight for Sight fundraiser, the "Lights On" variety show, was the organization's signature event and was a who's-who of top singers, comedians, actors and politicians from 1949 into the mid 1990s.The event launched with the support of Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
, and later led by Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, with Earl Wilson (columnist)
Earl Wilson (columnist)
Earl Wilson , born Harvey Earl Wilson, was an American journalist, gossip columnist and author, perhaps best known for his nationally syndicated column, It Happened Last Night....
and Harry Helmsley
Harry Helmsley
Harry B. Helmsley was an Americanentrepreneur who built a company that became one of the biggest property holders in the United States...
as co-Chairman. Honorary Members included Sammy Davis Junior and New York City Mayors John Lindsay
John Lindsay
John Vliet Lindsay was an American politician, lawyer and broadcaster who was a U.S. Congressman, Mayor of New York City, candidate for U.S...
and Abraham Beame
Abraham Beame
Abraham David "Abe" Beame was mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As such, he presided over the city during the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, during which the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy....
, as well as Jacob K. Javits
Jacob K. Javits
Jacob Koppel "Jack" Javits was a politician who served as United States Senator from New York from 1957 to 1981. A liberal Republican, he was originally allied with Governor Nelson Rockefeller, fellow U.S...
, the United States Senator from New York. Events included Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
, Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
, Earl Wilson, Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
, Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
, Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
, Pearl Bailey
Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
, Mel Allen
Mel Allen
Mel Allen was an American sportscaster, best known for his long tenure as the primary play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees. During the peak of his career in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Allen was arguably the most prominent member of his profession, his voice familiar to millions...
, Peter Falk
Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
, Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
, Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt
Eartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...
, Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
, Tommy Smothers, Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....
, Jerry Stiller
Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller is an American comedian and actor.He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara...
, Carol Channing
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Kitty Carlisle, and many others. In the early 1960s, Fannie Hurst
Fannie Hurst
Fannie Hurst was an American novelist. Although her books are not well remembered today, during her lifetime some of her more famous novels were Stardust , Lummox , A President is Born , Back Street , and Imitation of Life...
served as Honorary Chairman of the Women's Division of "Lights On."
In 1960 Bob Hope led a coast-to-coast telecast for Fight for Sight and donated $100,000 to establish the Bob Hope Fight for Sight Fund.
In 2003, Olympic medalist figure skater Nancy Kerrigan
Nancy Kerrigan
Nancy Ann Kerrigan is a two-time American Olympic figure skating medalist and 1993 U.S. champion.-Early life and skating career:...
became a Fight for Sight spokeswoman.
Fight for Sight Children's Eye Centers and Projects Abroad
A network of Fight for Sight Children's Eye Centers was established beginning in 1961 and were supported through the late 1990s, with some as late as 2005. The first was in New York (at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, and with funding in the mid-1990s from billionaire Harry B. and Leona HelmsleyLeona Helmsley
Leona Mindy Roberts Helmsley was an American businesswoman and real estate entrepreneur. She was a flamboyant personality and had a reputation for tyrannical behavior that earned her the nickname Queen of Mean...
another at Mount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute
Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute is a hospital located at 4300 Alton Road in Miami Beach, Florida, and is the largest independent non-profit teaching hospital in the state. The institution was incorporated on March 11, 1946, and opened on its current location on Sunday, December...
), Miami (Bascom Palmer Eye Institute), one in Pittsburgh (Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh), three in Philadelphia (Wills Eye Hospital, Temple University School of Medicine
Temple University School of Medicine
The Temple University School of Medicine , located on the Health Science Campus of Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, is one of 7 schools of medicine in Pennsylvania conferring the doctor of medicine degree. It also confers the Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in biomedical sciences.The 2011 U.S...
and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
St. Christopher's Hospital for Children is a 189 bed non-sectarian children’s hospital located near Center City, Philadelphia. It is one of the oldest full-service hospitals in the United States totally dedicated to the care of children. St...
), and Newark, NJ (Eye Institute of New Jersey, UMDNJ-University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey is the state-run health sciences institution of New Jersey, United States. It has eight distinct academic units...
). The Fight for Sight Children's Eye Center at Columbia is thought to have been the second eye clinic for children in the United States.
Fight for Sight also supported general eye clinics, such as the Harkness Eye Institute at Columbia University, the Philadelphia Geriatric Clinic, and New York–Presbyterian Hospital.
Overseas in the 1960s, Fight for Sight also supported a Mobile Eye Clinic in Jerusalem, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, for treatment and eradication of trachoma
Trachoma
Trachoma is an infectious disease causing a characteristic roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. Also called granular conjunctivitis and Egyptian ophthalmia, it is the leading cause of infectious blindness in the world...
, and an eye bank at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College, a corneal research project in Indore
Indore
Indore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631...
, India, and research in Japan, Korea, Turkey, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, The Netherlands, England, Argentina, Mexico, and Uganda.