Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday season.  It is also the one day in fellowship we express our gratitude. 

Collectively we give thanks and acknowledge we are eternally grateful for another day to make a positive impact. 

Life's simple blessings:  family, friends, health, home and the ability to see the world around you.  Like you, we at the eye bank believe sight is a special gift.

This Thanksgiving, we encourage you to remember the cornea donors and their families who the make gift of sight possible for others.  We give thanks for their giving ...the gift of sight.

Your financial support of Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley programming makes an impact on lives and communities throughout the Delaware Valley.  Please give.  Don't you think everyone deserves the best sight possible?

The Eye Bank hosted the 6th Annual PID Gene Polgar Fellowship Brunch on Sunday November 4th at Harry's Savoy Grill and Ballroom in Wilmington, DE. The brunch brought together fellows from the tri-state area to socialize and hear about the growth of the Endowment Fund. Many Lions Clubs have been donating $1,000 and naming a Polgar Fellow from their club to be honored.  Absent Fellows from New Jersey and Pennsylvania were still involved in recovery from Hurricane Sandy.   A special acknowledgment  of  the hurricane's victims was offered by Endowment Fund co-Chair PCC Mel Bray from District 16-B/Toms River during opening prayer.

The program included an update on the progress of the Eye Bank over the last year. Jim Quirk, Eye Bank President, noted several milestones . In January 2012, the Eye Bank provided corneal tissue for 105 surgeries, the largest amount ever transplanted in a single month.  In 2011, the Eye Bank technical staff facilitated over 1700 corneal recoveries on behalf of families and their deceased loved ones resulting in 1,039 transplant surgeries.  "Unfortunately, not all recovered corneal tissue is suitable for transplantation", said Jim.  "However, tissue is needed for education and training as well as medical research."

Jim Quirk also advised that the Eye Bank is receiving increased requests for charity care as there is a growing number of people who cannot afford a cornea transplant.  "I believe everyone deserves the best sight possible," said Jim as he thanked Lions Clubs for their continued support to ensure that no man, woman or child suffers from a curable blindness as championed by Helen Keller.  The Eye Bank works closely with world renowned Wills Eye Hospital, Ophthalmologists and local Lions Clubs in coordinating gratis cornea tissue requests and other sight related hardship cases.

Pin Trader PDG Jim Minnich, Endowment Co-chair, thanked the Lions of New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania for donating convention trading pins to the Eye Bank.   PDG is President of the Lions International Trading Pin Club.  The resale of the pins raised over $18,000 for the Endowment Fund.