Set a Course for Good with Seva this Year

Posted on by Kate Moynihan
Photo: Three boys in Nepal by Jon Kaplan.

The beginning of any year allows us to reflect on the previous year and be reinspired by the hopes we have for the year ahead. It’s also time for us to aim for a brighter tomorrow, setting new goals for the future. Here at Seva, the team and our partners engage in a highly inclusive and reflective process. With a set of carefully selected questions we uncover the most successful patterns from the work of the past that allow us to plan for a great year.

We do this in two distinct parts. First we review, learn from, and celebrate the year we are leaving behind. In the second part, our questions and challenges are all about the future. Together with our clients, partners, staff, and board members we are dreaming, planning, and preparing to help the most number of people gain access to comprehensive eye care.

Since the pandemic began I’ve looked to each of you as proof of how strong the Seva fabric can be. Together our resilience, ingenuity, and creativity shone through for the people who need us the most. In fact, millions of people – 2.8 to be more precise – relied on the Seva Foundation’s network of world-class partners to provide services through the pandemic. You helped to navigate this new world, deliver critical eye care, and spread good where it does the most.

Another thing happened: Former NY Times journalist Nicholas Kristof named Seva the Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Holiday Impact Prize. This was a big deal for our organization, the partners we work alongside and the difference this mission makes in the world. It is affirmation from one of the most renowned and celebrated journalists of our time, that Seva is seen for who we are: an organization that believes how we work in this world is as important as what we do, and the sustainable impact we have. For me personally, this award solidifies the thread that connects us from the origins of Seva in the 70’s to the staff and board of today – we are forever bound by a commitment to world class science paired with human compassion.

As we embark on the next normal, know that we – here at the Seva Foundation – are renewed and ready for the year ahead. I invite you to let the mission and work of Seva be one of the guiding points on your own compass that you follow this coming year.

Onwards & Upwards

Kate Moynihan
Executive Director

Vote for Seva – Transform thousands of lives in just 2 seconds!

Posted on by Seva Foundation
Peter Singer of The Life You Can Save. Vote for Seva!
Peter Singer of The Life You Can Save.

Thanks for your votes!

Renowned philanthropist Peter Singer has won the Berggruen Prize, and he’s giving away $100,000 from the prize money to three of The Life You Can Save’s recommended charities based on a public vote – Seva won $30,000! 

Each dollar goes directly to provide critical eye care, medicine, and treatment to underserved communities. That means thousands can go back to school, work or serve their communities! It’s never been so simple to transform lives!

See the Results

Thanks again – it takes a community to bring the gift of vision to those in need.

Rap to Unwrap Unhappiness

Posted on by Seva Foundation
Two boys in Tibet (China) with prayer flags - by Jon Kaplan.
Two boys in Tibet (China) with prayer flags – by Jon Kaplan. This photo is available as a gift card through Gifts of Sight.

You know how the holidays are filled with joyous music, spreading cheer far and wide? Well, we have a treat for you today! Our youth outreach team in Nepal created a jingle about the importance of eye care. It may not be a familial holiday tune, but it has the same spirit and energy this time of year brings to all of us.

Listen to the full clip and follow along with the translations below:

Continue reading →

Nicholas Kristof names Seva Foundation the 2021 Holiday Impact Grand Prize Winner!

Posted on by Kate Moynihan
Nick Kristof

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and former New York Times journalist and author Nicholas Kristof names Seva Foundation the 2021 Holiday Impact Grand Prize Winner!

Every year, Kristof selects only five non-profit organizations, with one grand prize, for their life-changing work. Kristof says of Seva:

“It feels miraculous to watch people regain their sight, but it’s a miracle that we can all make happen. Seva Foundation, the Grand Prize Winner of this year’s Holiday Impact Prize, is transforming people’s lives for as little as $50 per cataract surgery. Seva works in more than 20 countries abroad and in Native American communities in the United States, and nothing is more joyous than seeing the impact of its work on people who had thought they would never see again.” 

– Nicholas Kristof
Continue reading →