We are Saving Sight

The Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation and Heartland Lions Eye Banks will operate under the name Saving Sight as of December 1, 2013. The moniker change
was approved by the board of directors at their meeting in September because the new name unites the sight-saving programs of the Missouri Lions Eye Research
Foundation, of which Heartland Lions Eye Banks is the largest, under a single brand identity. “Saving Sight is going to sharpen the focus of our organization and make it easier to communicate all the great work our staff and volunteers are doing,” said Chief Executive Officer Tony Bavuso.

Refining the Foundation’s identity is a key objective in our strategic plan, a five-part document created by staff and board members to guide development over the next three years. “We chose Saving Sight because it clearly and concisely describes what our programs are doing to help people,” said Bavuso. “With the strategic plan in place to guide us, now is the time to implement a name change that will help us achieve our mission: we change lives by saving sight.”

Saving Sight will continue to offer high-quality donor tissue and other services to help improve the vision and lives of nearly 50,000 people per year. The rebranding, however, will involve a change in website, social media and other avenues of communication. Office locations and phone numbers will remain the same, but the new website, social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Vimeo) and email addresses (first initial and last name preceding @saving-sight.org) will go live on December 1, 2013. The previous websites (www.mlerf.org and www.hleb.org) and email addresses (first initial and last name preceding @mlerf.org or @hleb.org) will redirect automatically to the new site and addresses as of December 1.

“We are one of the five largest eye banks in the country, so refining the identity of an organization our size is a complicated task,” Bavuso said. “But I’m excited
about what this new name will mean for us.” Hospital partners, surgeons, donor families, recipients, organizational partners, volunteers and other stakeholders
are invited to read Saving Sight’s strategic plan as well as view the short video below that captures both our history and our future. To get more involved with
Saving Sight or to ask questions about the strategic plan, please message us through our Contact form or call 800-753-2265.