reflecting
At Saving Sight, our work
Every day, our community, physicians place confidence and purpose. As we reflect
This year’s Impact Report
Within these pages, you’ll meet recipients like Matt, remembrance, recognition, You’ll also see the vital and respect. Their commitment
In 2025, we also expanded with complex ocular injuries
Our impact extends beyond grants strengthening vision our people. This year, accountability we often systems that support by saving sight.
Tony Bavuso, CEO, Saving Sight
reflecting on our IMPACT
work begins and ends with trust.
community, donor families and those waiting for renewed sight entrust us with something extraordinary. Volunteers, hospital partners, and confidence in our commitment to care and collaboration. Our staff carries the responsibility of honoring each gift with integrity, compassion, reflect on 2025, one thing is clear: meaningful impact happens when stewardship and accountability guide every decision. Report tells that story.
you’ll read about lives transformed through sight-restoring cornea transplants and the donor legacies that made them possible. You’ll Matt, whose vision, and outlook on life, was restored through donation, and learn how we continue to honor donor families through recognition, and ongoing support.
vital role our hospital partners play as Champions of Sight, leading with compassion to ensure every donor’s legacy is treated with dignity commitment makes the gift of sight possible for patients in communities across our service area and beyond.
expanded how we serve. The start of First Gift opened new pathways to healing, transforming birth tissue donations into hope for individuals injuries and wounds. This milestone reflects our ability to evolve responsibly while remaining firmly rooted in our mission.
beyond today. This report highlights our investment in research through the Diabetes Endothelial Keratoplasty Study, our strategic charitable vision care across Missouri, and partnerships that broaden the reach of donation and stewardship. None of this work is possible without we strengthened leadership at every level—welcoming new board members, investing in emerging leaders, and nurturing a culture of often call “standing on business.” Looking ahead, Saving Sight remains focused on what matters most: honoring every gift, strengthening the donation, and expanding healing through trusted partnership. Thank you for being part of this mission. Together, we are changing lives
a community of COMPASSION
Honoring Legacies at Missouri’s Donor Family Recognition Program
Each April, families from across Missouri come together in Jefferson City for a heartfelt tradition hosted by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the Organ Donation Advisory Committee, and Donate Life Missouri partner organizations. The Donor Family Recognition Program offers a space to honor the remarkable generosity of organ, eye, and tissue donors from the previous year—a meaningful celebration of life during National Donate Life Month. This year’s gathering welcomed families to First Baptist Church, where volunteers from Donate Life
Missouri organizations, including Saving Sight, offered a warm and compassionate reception. Guests created bracelets and painted canvases in memory of their loved ones, sharing stories and finding comfort in community. During the recognition ceremony, each family received a certificate presented by DHSS Director Sarah Wilson—a symbol of gratitude for the selfless gifts their loved ones provided. Following the ceremony, attendees spent time in quiet reflection before joining together for a moment of silence at the Governor’s Garden. It was a poignant reminder of the
profound impact donor heroes continue to make in the lives of others. Saving Sight is deeply grateful for the opportunity to walk alongside donor families during this annual event. Each year, it reinforces our commitment to honoring eye donors and supporting the people who championed their gift of sight.
This gathering remains an important way we celebrate National Donate Life Month in partnership with organizations and leaders across the state—united in recognizing the extraordinary legacy of Missouri’s donor heroes.
maintaining a culture of ADVOCACY
PDG Leon Hove named Saving Sight’s inaugural Lion Ambassador of the Year
In 2025, Saving Sight honored PDG Leon Hove as its Lions Ambassador of the Year, recognizing nearly five decades of service rooted in compassion, humility, and commitment to vision care. The honor reflects a lifetime dedicated to helping others see more clearly.
Leon’s journey with the Lions began in the mid-1970s with the Joliet Noon Lions Club in Illinois. A defining moment came when he screened a child for amblyopia and later saw her return wearing glasses and experiencing clear vision for the first time. “That’s when I truly became a Lion,” Leon said.
That experience sparked a passion guiding his work for
almost 50 years. Leon devoted countless hours to KidSight screenings, international eye missions in Mexico and Panama, and helped found the Missouri Lions Eye Mission Foundation in 2018 to expand access to care.
After slowdowns due to the pandemic, the foundation rebounded in 2024, hosting 37 eye missions and serving more than 2,500 people. One especially meaningful moment came in November, when Leon helped lead a St. Louis clinic providing recycled eyeglasses to unhoused individuals.
Now nearing 84, Leon remains an active advocate and volunteer.
PDG Leon Hove and PDG Lyn Porterfield
PCC Ron Campbell, PDG Leon Hove, and PCC George Winkeler, Jr.
welcoming new LEADERSHIP welcoming new LEADERSHIP
In July 2025, Saving Sight welcomed four new Board members, each contributing unique expertise and a shared dedication to changing lives by saving sight.
VCC Rachel Harper brings a strong mix of nonprofit leadership and communications experience. A Lion since 2016 with the Carrollton Lions Club, she currently serves as District Governor for MD26-M4 and was elected Missouri Lions Vice Council Chair for 2025–2026. Professionally, she leads digital marketing efforts at Carroll County Memorial Hospital and is passionate about supporting the growth of First Gift, Saving Sight’s newest birth tissue donation program.
Lion Aaron Hoeffling, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, brings more than 20 years of leadership shaped by service across multiple states and overseas. After retiring, he served as Plant Manager at Zephyr Manufacturing. A Lion since 2016, he has held numerous leadership roles and is set to serve as Vice District Governor in 2026. Inspired by Saving Sight’s mission, he is honored to support the work of restoring sight and transforming lives.
Lion Stephen “Steve” Murray joined the board after a distinguished career in utility leadership and civic service. He held leadership roles with Associated Industries of Missouri, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, and energy-related associations. Since retiring, he has continued serving as president of the Carl Junction Lions Club, leading an Eye Mission that served over 100 community members and provided more than 75 pairs of eyeglasses.
CC Wendetta (Wendy) N. Williams brings distinguished leadership as both a Lion and a military veteran. She serves as Council Chairperson for MD-26 Missouri Lions for 2025–2026 and has held multiple roles with the Fort Leonard Wood Lions Club. A recipient of the International President’s Leadership Award, Wendy retired as a Colonel after 30 years in the U.S. Army Reserves and now serves as an Operations Research Analyst for the Department of the Army.
honoring donor HEROES
Saving Sight at the 2025 Donate Life Legacy Walk in Kansas City
Saving Sight was proud to join Midwest Transplant Network and the greater donation community at the 2025 Donate Life Legacy Walk in Kansas City. This day was dedicated to honoring donor heroes and celebrating the lives renewed through the gift of donation.
Held at the National WWI Museum and Memorial, the event brought together donor families, recipients, healthcare partners, and community members for a meaningful walk of remembrance, gratitude, and hope. Along the route, signs bearing the names and photos of donors served as powerful reminders
of the legacies that continue to live on through eye, organ, and tissue donation.
Team members from multiple Saving Sight offices traveled to Kansas City to participate, walking together and connecting with the community throughout the day. Staff also hosted a Saving Sight table, sharing information, giving away promotional items, and celebrating the mission alongside our partners and supporters. With food trucks, music, face painting, and family-friendly activities, the Legacy
Walk created a welcoming space for celebration and connection.
Events like the Donate Life Legacy Walk highlight the impact made possible through collaboration. By standing alongside our organ and tissue donation partners, Saving Sight helps honor donors, support their families, and raise awareness of how donation restores sight and transforms lives every day.
expanding our COMMUNITY IMPACT
Charitable Grants Strengthening Community Vision Services
Since 1960, Saving Sight has advanced its mission of changing lives While program delivery has evolved, the commitment to meeting access to vision care across Missouri.
In 2021, Saving Sight’s Board of Directors established a board-designated Through this fund, the charitable grant program provides annual receiving funding during the 2024 – 2025 fiscal year to help extend
KidSight received $41,500 organization to significantly follow-up services for children. more than 43,000 children, an the previous year, and referred nearly 3,900 students to local eye exams. The program now serves 100 Missouri counties, up from support also helped KidSight partner with local eyecare providers clinic days in Boone and Jackson counties, delivering 37 free eye glasses to students in need.
The Missouri Lions Eye Mission Foundation received $16,500 to purchase new digital fundus cameras and This investment allowed the foundation to maintain two identical sets of equipment for mission events across the efficiency and reach. During the year, the foundation hosted 21 mission events, with 19 additional events scheduled, access to vision care in every Lions district. Beyond equipment, the grant sparked renewed energy among strengthened the impact of Lions Clubs throughout Missouri.
The Show Me Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center applied its $2,000 grant to improve building accessibility functionality. Enhancements included restroom grab bars, improved signage, new shelving for better eyeglass organization, essential equipment such as a pallet jack and hand truck to support transportation needs. Thousands of bags, printer and cleaning tools were also purchased. Much of the labor and additional materials were donated by volunteers, the center’s deep roots in community service and stewardship.
lives by saving sight through charitable vision programs rooted in generosity, partnership, and service. community needs has remained constant and continues today through mission partners expanding
board-designated quasi-endowment to ensure long-term support for aligned charitable organizations. annual support to partners improving vision health and access statewide, with three partners extend care to thousands of Missourians.
in general operating support, enabling the expand its free vision screenings and children. Over the year, KidSight screened an increase of over 4,000 from eye doctors for comprehensive from 94 the year prior. Grant providers to host mobile vision exams and 36 pairs of and vision screeners. the state, increasing scheduled, expanding among volunteers and and warehouse organization, and printer supplies, volunteers, reflecting
For Matt, a cornea transplant meant the difference between fading vision and a world restored. His journey began after what seemed like a minor ear infection ruptured while he slept. Discharge from the rupture, combined with debris beneath a contact lens, led to a rare fungal eye infection that progressed quickly and threatened his sight. After initial treatment, Matt was referred to Dr. Kenneth Goins at The University of Kansas Health System, where testing confirmed the infection was worsening and that a cornea transplant was his only chance to preserve vision. “They were
concerned I could lose 100 percent of my eyesight,” Matt recalled. “I needed a transplant as soon as possible.”
This was not Matt’s first experience with transplantation. Years earlier, he had received a life-saving kidney transplant from a living donor, shaping his understanding of the importance of donation. Still, facing possible blindness gave him a new perspective on how even a single tissue donation can change a life. “I didn’t know how much one tissue could impact someone’s life until I was faced with losing my sight,” he said.
Following his cornea transplant, Matt’s vision began to improve, bringing deep gratitude for the donor and family who made his recovery possible. “Someone selflessly gave me the gift of sight,” he shared.
“It’s overwhelming.” Today, Matt encourages others to consider registering as donors. “You might save someone’s life or change their world just by checking that box,” he said. By sharing his story, Matt hopes to honor his donor’s legacy and inspire others to say yes to donation.
honoring the gift of SIGHT
In Clear Focus: Lonna’s Story of Sight Restored
For Arkansas native, Lonna, a cornea transplant meant the difference between a life half-seen and life brought back into clear focus. Her journey began when routine eye discomfort revealed a deeper problem: a scarred cornea that made everyday life “very fuzzy,” she said, and left her legally blind in one eye.
Her ophthalmologist referred Lonna to Saving Sight corneal surgeon partner Dr. Thomas in Springfield, MO, and Lonna didn’t hesitate. “I wanted it right away,” she recalled. Tests confirmed that without intervention, she risked losing vision permanently. Within weeks, Lonna sat in the operating room—awake but at ease— watching the team at work.
The procedure took less than 30 minutes, and Lonna felt almost nothing. By her first follow-up, she’d read two more lines on the eye chart. “I have had zero issues, and it’s just been amazing,” she said. Six months later, Dr. Thomas told her the transplant was “textbook perfect.”
Lonna’s renewed sight has already changed her daily life. She’s back to reading books before bed and driving to her grandchildren’s school plays without hesitation. But more than that, she’s rediscovered the simple joys she once took for granted— like watching the sunrise in her backyard. “I couldn’t see well at all,” she said. “Now I notice every leaf on the trees.”
Throughout her recovery, Lonna has carried deep gratitude for the donor hero who made her new cornea possible. “A stranger changed my entire world,” she said. “I wake up every day seeing clearly because of someone’s generosity.” She hopes others will consider that same act of compassion. “You don’t realize how powerful that decision is,” she added. “It can give someone their life back.”
Lonna’s journey reminds us that a single choice can have a lasting impact. “I tell everyone: sign up for the registry, you never know whose life you could change,” she said. Through her restored sight, she hopes countless others will discover that same gift—and that more lives will be brought into focus.
empowering our future LEADERS
The Emerging Leaders program at Saving Sight is designed to cultivate leadership potential and strengthen critical skills across the organization. By investing in emerging talent, the program helps build a strong leadership pipeline to support Saving Sight’s mission, culture, and growth. Participants engage in a curriculum that blends leadership development with practical application, exploring
topics such as communication, change management, team dynamics, and organizational effectiveness under the guidance of Saving Sight leaders.
This year’s class focused its final project on engagement, training, and learning and development. The team proposed solutions including enhanced shadowing opportunities, clearer work instructions and SOPs,
structured onboarding plans, and expanded digital training resources.
Through this work, the Emerging Leaders emphasized the importance of intentional training, knowledge sharing, and employee confidence as key drivers of engagement, retention, and long-term organizational success.
highlighting INNOVATION
First Gift Marks a Milestone Year
Launched in April 2025, First Gift marked its first year by expanding Saving Sight’s mission beyond corneal transplantation and opening new pathways to healing for patients in need. The program represents a significant step forward, allowing Saving Sight to serve donors, families, and recipients in new and profoundly meaningful ways.
First Gift partners with new and expectant mothers who choose to donate their placental and umbilical cord tissues after birth—materials that are typically discarded but hold extraordinary healing potential. These tissues support advanced therapies for patients with ocular injuries, nonhealing skin wounds, and severe burns. In many cases, they facilitate recovery that might not otherwise be
possible. Just one mother’s donation can help up to 75 individuals regain comfort, mobility, and independence.
During its inaugural year, First Gift achieved an exceptional milestone: a 96% consent rate among participating mothers. This extraordinary level of engagement speaks to the generosity of donor mothers and the compassionate guidance of our hospital partners. With the program now established in two partner hospitals, we’ve built strong, trusting relationships that enrich the donor experience and ensure these gifts are stewarded with care and respect.
Looking ahead, we are committed to expanding First Gift to additional hospitals and strengthening our collaboration with maternal care
teams across the region. Each new partnership deepens our connection to families at a meaningful moment in their lives and broadens our ability to provide healing to patients who depend on these life-enhancing tissues.
First Gift’s first year has laid a powerful foundation—one that reflects innovation, partnership, and the transformational impact of donation. Saving Sight is honored to champion this work as we continue advancing our mission to transform lives through donation and transplantation.
First Gift by Saving Sight
strengthening our BRAND
A Unified Brand Framework Supporting our Mission
In 2025, Saving Sight undertook a comprehensive refresh of its brand book to better reflect the organization’s growth and evolving mission. This effort brought together Saving Sight’s established brand standards with those of First Gift, creating a unified framework that honors the distinct focus of each program while reinforcing their shared purpose.
The updated brand book clarifies visual identity, messaging, and tone across all platforms, ensuring consistency in how Saving Sight and First Gift communicate with donors, partners, and the communities they serve. By consolidating guidelines into a single, cohesive resource, the organization strengthened internal alignment and improved efficiency across communications, marketing, and outreach efforts.
This refreshed brand foundation positions Saving Sight for continued growth, supporting clear storytelling, stronger recognition, and a more connected donor experience as the organization advances its mission to transform lives through donation and transplantation.
focusing on CONNECTION
Inside the Saving Sight Fall Festival
Saving Sight’s annual Fall Party brought together staff from all six offices across the service area, along with their families, for an evening full of fun, connection, and achievement. Designed as a celebration of the people behind the mission, the event provided a meaningful opportunity for colleagues to spend time together outside of the workplace and strengthen relationships across teams and locations.
This year’s gathering featured a variety of activities for all ages, hosted by T-Shotz in Kansas City,
included golfing, pickleball, an arcade, and a prize raffle, along with food and drinks shared throughout the evening. Laughter, friendly competition, and shared experiences filled the space as employees and their families connected with both familiar faces and colleagues they don’t often see day to day.
More than just a social event, the Fall Party served as a moment to pause and celebrate another successful year of changing lives by saving sight. Bringing together team members from
across departments and offices reinforced Saving Sight’s peoplefirst culture and the importance of connection in supporting collaboration, engagement, and long-term success.
Events like the Fall Party reflect Saving Sight’s ongoing commitment to valuing its people and fostering a workplace culture where employees feel appreciated, connected, and inspired by the mission they help advance every day.
celebrating our CHAMPIONS OF SIGHT
During Eye Donation Month in November 2024, Saving Sight proudly recognized four outstanding hospital partners as Champions of Sight—honoring their extraordinary commitment to eye donation and the families and recipients they serve. This annual recognition provides an opportunity to reflect on the vital role hospital teams play in making the gift of sight possible throughout the year.
The Champion of Sight Award celebrates partners who demonstrate exceptional dedication to the eye donation process through compassion, collaboration, and advocacy. These teams go above and beyond in their day-to-day work to support donor families, uphold the dignity of each donor’s legacy, and help ensure that the gift of sight reaches those in need.
Mercy Hospital Joplin Donor Council
A dedicated team supporting the donation process to save and enhance lives.
Springfield Memorial Donor Advisory Council
A compassionate team honoring donor legacies and supporting families.
The University of Kansas Health System Donor Council
A committed team serving donors, their families, and cornea transplant recipients.
Wesley Medical Center Donor Council
A caring team facilitating the gift of sight for the Wichita community and beyond.
CHAMPION of donation
2024 Champion of Sight Awardees
showing up with PURPOSE
Increasing Community Impact by Standing on Business
At Saving Sight, how we do our work matters as much as what we achieve. As accountable stewards of the gift of donation and restored sight, we believe our values, attitudes, and daily behaviors directly shape our ability to serve others. This commitment to excellence and accountability guides every program, partnership, and interaction across our organization.
During the past year, this shared commitment took on a unifying name and purpose: Standing on Business—an organizational rallying cry that reflects who
we are and how we show up for our mission.
At Saving Sight, Standing on Business means being focused, decisive, and fully committed to our responsibilities. It means taking ownership of our actions, honoring our word, and leading with integrity. It calls each of us to take initiative, remain resilient, stay curious, and work collaboratively as one team. Just as importantly, it challenges us to continuously sharpen our skills and pursue excellence in everything we do.
When
we
Stand
on Business, we strengthen our culture, and a strong culture fuels greater impact.
By holding ourselves accountable to these shared standards, we create more opportunities to serve donor families, support clinicians, and restore sight to individuals in our communities and beyond.
Standing on Business isn’t just a mindset—it’s how we expand our reach, deepen our impact, and change more lives through the mission of Saving Sight.
8 expanding the reach of DONATION
State Donor Designation Share
a partnership to
SAVE SIGHT
Physician Partner Impact
Each day, Saving Sight impacts an average of 8 lives by providing the gift of sight through transplant. Many individuals come together to accomplish this miracle. We work with teams of clinical and health professionals who have dedicated their careers to saving sight through transplantation. Among the most dedicated are our physician partners who perform corneal transplants.
In January, Saving Sight kicked off the 2025 calendar year by
celebrating the lives our physician partners impacted in 2024. Our Business Development Manager visited physicians offices to say thanks and present them with a poster to commemorate the number of lives that physician changed by performing corneal transplants in partnership with Saving Sight in 2024. We are grateful for this crucial alliance in saving sight in the communities we serve!
Lynn Forest-Smith VP Business Strategy
727-253-0752
Patrick Gore, RN Chief Business Development Officer
813-753-4487
Kevin Wright Business Development Manager
816-255-1354
Dr. Cavanaugh & Kevin Wright
Dr. Osborn
Dr. Farhat
Dr. Tauber
Dr. Seagrave
reflecting on our PARTNERSHIP
A Year of Impact
As Saving Sight reflects on its first full year partnering with Southern Legacy of Life—formerly ARORA—we celebrate a collaboration that has strengthened donation stewardship and expanded the gift of sight throughout Arkansas. What began on October 7, 2024, as a shared commitment has grown into a meaningful alliance rooted in ensuring every Arkansan who chooses donation can change lives locally and beyond.
Over the past year, Southern Legacy of Life recovered ocular tissue across the state, while Saving Sight processed and distributed those
tissues for transplantation, supporting surgeons in Arkansas and throughout the region. This collaboration has enabled hundreds more Arkansans to give the gift of sight, helping individuals with corneal blindness regain vision and return to daily life. Building on long-standing relationships in Arkansas communities, particularly those served by physicians in the Missouri Ozarks, this partnership has allowed Saving Sight to restore sight to an increasing amount of Arkansans.
As CEO Tony Bavuso noted, stewardship remains central to honoring each donor hero’s legacy. Southern Legacy of Life President and CEO Mark Tudor echoed this sentiment, sharing how the partnership helps families honor their loved ones’ gifts. Together, Saving Sight and Southern Legacy of Life continue advancing the gift of sight while honoring Arkansas donor heroes whose legacies illuminate countless lives.
expanding donation through RESEARCH
Strengthening Corneal Transplant Outcomes Through Research
Saving Sight continues to advance eye banking through participation in impactful research initiatives, including the Diabetes Endothelial Keratoplasty Study (DEKS). This national clinical study examined how donor diabetes affects graft outcomes following Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK), the most commonly performed corneal transplant procedure. Historically, donor tissue from individuals with diabetes was approached with caution due to concerns about graft fragility and long-term success. DEKS was designed to evaluate whether those concerns were supported by clinical outcomes, analyzing data from 13 eye banks and surgeons across the country.
The study’s findings support the use of donor tissue across the full spectrum of diabetes severity for DMEK procedures. By removing unnecessary restrictions, DEKS helps expand the available donor tissue pool, allowing eye banks to better support surgeons and keep tissue available locally for patients in need.
Building on this success, DEKS has been extended with funding from the National Eye Institute to follow participants for up to five years, with data collection continuing through 2030. This ongoing research will further strengthen evidencebased practices and reflects Saving Sight’s commitment to innovation, collaboration, and advancing sightsaving care.
Hospital Referral Partners
Hospital Referral Partners
Hospital Referral Partners
Hospital Referral Partners
Hospital Referral Partners
Hospital Referral Partners
Hospital Referral Partners
Hospital Referral Partners
Hospital Referral Partners
Hospital Referral Partners
