Other ways to support
1. Make a cash donation
As with many non-profit organizations, funding is a very important part of IRIS Mundial’s activities. The organiszation must raise tens of thousands of dollars every year in order to make their missions possible and maintain their many worldwide permanent programs. You can make a donation on our website by clicking here or by going to the IRIS store closest to you.
Do you know what a donation made to IRIS Mundial actually achieves?
With $5 you can...
Support the shipping fee for five pairs of eyeglasses for an ophthalmologic mission abroad
With $10 you can...
Support the purchase of a radio spot in Haiti to raise awareness about eye diseases
With $15 you can...
Support the purchase of 6 pairs of reading glasses for an ophthalmologic mission abroad or for our permanent programs
With $25 you can...
Support the transport for three mobile clinics in remote areas linked to one of our permanent programs
With $50 you can...
Offer a pterygium surgery in Haiti or Senegal
With $150 you can...
Offer a cataract surgery in Haiti or Senegal
With $250 you can...
Support the organization of the monthly ophthalmology day to offer secondary eye care to patients in our permanent programs
With $400 you can...
Pay the monthly salary of a local nurse in our permanent programs
To learn more about our finances, do not hesitate to consult our audited financial statements, or our annual reports for recent years by clicking here.
Other ways to support
2. Donate your old glasses at an IRIS store near you
Often, people don’t know what to do with their old glasses that are still in good condition. Did you know that IRIS Mundial redistributes glasses in good condition to people who really need them? How amazing! In every IRIS store, there is an identified box in which you can drop off glasses that you no longer wear. Your glasses will be taken to the IRIS Mundial offices where volunteers will help clean and sort them according to the ophthalmic lenses prescription. Once your glasses are identified and sorted, they will be redistributed to people in need who will finally be able to see life more clearly. In many cases, this pair of glasses will be the only one that this person will have in his or her whole life. IRIS Mundial always need prescription glasses and sunglasses for adults and children. To donate your glasses, visit your nearest IRIS store to drop them in the donation box. You don’t necessarily have to be patient at IRIS to donate your glasses all donations are greatly appreciated!
[1] It is important to understand that this may be the only pair of glasses the patient will receive in their lifetime. So IRIS Mundial made it its mission to offer only good quality glasses. They have to be in good condition and not have too many scratches in the center of the lens.
Other ways to support
3. Talk about us
To help IRIS Mundial, you can also talk about the cause to make it known! Spread the message, raise awareness among those around you and spread the word! To fully understand the importance of this cause which is not always known, imagine yourself: would you be able to work and go about your daily business if you had no access to your reading glasses or distance glasses?
- 2.2 billion people around the world live with a vision impairment and in at least 1 billion of these cases, vision impairment could have been prevented or has yet to be addressed.
- 89% of visually impaired people live in low and middle income countries.
- 100% of people need reading glasses as they age due to hardening of the eye lens.
- Visual impairment will triple worldwide by 2050 due to the ageing of the population.
To keep you informed of our activities, we invite you to follow us on Facebook. Please feel free to share our website articles and Facebook posts to help spread awareness!
Other ways to support
4. Buy prescription glasses at IRIS or schedule laser eye surgery at the IRIS Ophthalmology Clinic during the month of February
During the month of February, IRIS stores will give IRIS Mundial $10 per pair of glasses sold across Canada and the IRIS Ophthalmology Clinic will donate $50 per surgery. The simple act of buying your new glasses at this particular time of the year may seem random, but it does make a big difference! Since the launch of this special month in 2008, IRIS, The Visual Group has donated more than $ 1,126,500[1]. Click here to find the IRIS store closest to you.
[1] As of July 2020