Global eye bank Eversight receives $10K contribution from Kearny Bank
January 11, 2024
The 7,500 people who have corneal transplants each year just got some additional help, thanks to Kearny Bank donating $10,000 to the global eye bank Eversight. Provided through the KearnyBank Foundation, this funding will help support clinical operations at Michigan-based Eversight’s location in Clark, NJ.
A nonprofit with facilities in multiple states – including a research center in Cleveland – Eversight recovers healthy, viable cornea tissue and prepares it for transplant by surgeons. In the United States, there’s no waiting list of such operations, which seek to prevent blindness and restore vision. Cornea transplant surgeries have a success rate of approximately 97%.
“We have only 150 employees worldwide, and I always say we’re ‘small but mighty,’” says Becky Harris, Foundations & Corporations Philanthropy Director, Eversight. “A large part of this might is based on the direct support we receive from companies like Kearny Bank. We and all the people we help are extremely fortunate for such generosity.”
Eversight’s recovery technicians – including those based in Clark – have 24/7 responsibilities, since tissue must be recovered within 24 hours of the donor’s passing. It may then be used anywhere in the country and sometimes internationally, with most transplants occurring within a week of recovery.
“We’re proud to contribute to an organization like Eversight, which helps people here in New Jersey, across the U.S., and around the world,” says Kearny Bank President and CEO Craig Montanaro. “Vision is essential for accomplishing even the most routine, day-to-day tasks. Happily, the medical technology to protect and restore it is quite effective, provided necessary funding is available. This donation marks the third consecutive year Kearny Bank has donated to Eversight, which is truly a remarkable organization.”
Eversight works with partner organizations like the New Jersey Sharing Network to procure tissue for transplants. Of those who receive cornea transplants through Eversight’s efforts, about 65% are older than 65.
Additional information about Eversight's work to provide tissue for transplants and research is available through these videos (see links):
About Eversight
Eversight is a nonprofit organization with a mission to restore sight and prevent blindness through the healing power of donation, transplantation and research. The Eversight network is responsible for recovering, evaluating and providing human eye tissue for transplantation; supporting research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions; promoting donation awareness through public and professional education; and providing humanitarian aid to people around the world in need of corneal transplantation. Operating in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and South Korea, Eversight works in collaboration with surgeons, researchers, academic medical centers and eye banks across the United States and abroad. For more information, visit eversightvision.org.
About Kearny Bank
Combining the finest traditions of community banking with the industry’s latest, most effective financial products and services, Kearny Bank provides business and personal clients with the tools for success. Established back in 1884, and now operating from corporate offices in Fairfield, NJ, Kearny Bank’s footprint covers most of New Jersey, along with Brooklyn and Staten Island. Additional information is available at kearnybank.com or by visiting Kearny Bank’s social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.