American journalist and historian Henry Adams once said, “Teachers affect eternity; you can never tell where their influence stops.” The teachers of Edmonton Public Schools have taken that statement to another level with their Charity Trust Fund.

A generous supporter of Operation Eyesight for more than 25 years, the Edmonton Public Teachers’ Charity Trust Fund’s mandate is to support Edmonton children and their families, as well as to provide general community support and reach out on an international basis. “It’s a wonderful way for our members to give back to their community,” explains Nels Olsen, a teacher and chair of the donations committee. “Our members find the Charity Trust Fund payroll deductions a convenient way to donate to local and international charities.”

The Charity Trust Fund was established more than 40 years ago and distributes donations to about 35 agencies each year. Operation Eyesight, the only internationally-focused recipient for many years, gained the Charity Trust Fund’s support for a couple of simple reasons: “The committee felt that the organization had a very large impact for what amounted to a modest donation, and Operation Eyesight uses the money we give so effectively.”

Donating internationally helps to give their students perspective about supporting community both at home and abroad. “It also shows our members that they have impact far beyond Edmonton and Canada,” says Nels.

In fact, their impact is international and reaches some of our world’s most vulnerable people. By supporting projects like community development in India and hospitals and outreach programs in Africa, countless children, women and men see a brighter future, thanks to the compassionate members of Edmonton Public Teachers Local No. 37.

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Because of you, millions of people have avoided becoming needlessly blind. Girls and boys go to school, learn their ABCs, and play with their classmates. Men and women provide for their families and go about their lives. They have brighter futures because of you.

Here are just a few of our 2011 highlights.

In India, 2011 was the first full year of operations for our hospital-based community eye health programs, which are designed to provide comprehensive eye care and blindness prevention to India’s poorest. Last year, the programs screened almost 40,000 people and provided education in child care, nutrition and general health to almost 250,000 people.

This is a remarkable achievement, given that our health education program reached just 18,000 people in 2010.

Another 2011 highlight was the opening of India’s Little Flower Hospital eye department building. It will be a “centre of excellence” to serve the 32 million people in Kerala and surrounding states.

In Africa, we met our four-year target of completing 51 waterpoints in Kenya’s Narok district, including the amazing transformation of Ongata Naado. The tiny village went from a dusty, dry outpost with a ramshackle school to a progressive community with gardens, a water distribution service and a brand new school for 650 students. How? Operation Eyesight donors invested in a borehole and educating the community about taking care of this precious resource. See the pictures and read the full two-part story here and here.

Ongata Naado is just one example of more than 40 communities in Kenya and 50 in Zambia with similar stories – all because they worked with Operation Eyesight over the past several years. This is the kind of difference you are making to some of the world’s poorest people.

Our 2011 Report to Donors tells the full story of all that we accomplished together. As you read the report, I hope you’ll be as excited and as interested as I was! After all, it’s all thanks to you.

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“Giving is integrated into our corporate culture,” says Annapolis’ president and CEO, Peter Williams. “We started out in a simple way, but we’re certainly evolving. We want to make a difference in the world.”

For the past few years, instead of buying holiday cards or gifts for its investor companies, Annapolis has been purchasing symbolic gifts of eye surgeries from Operation Eyesight. Not only do Annapolis’ clients receive notifications from Operation Eyesight telling them holiday gifts have been made in their names, people in Africa and India benefit from this generous gesture. Peter says he has seen these letters posted on recipient company bulletin boards so that all staff can share in the spirit of giving.

In the summer, Annapolis hosts an annual golf tournament, and Peter seizes the opportunity to showcase the corporation’s philanthropic interests to its clients.

“We want to set an example to our investor companies and show leadership in giving. This raises other giving possibilities,” he says. “We have a huge amount of confidence that others will see donating as the right thing to do.”

Peter learned about Operation Eyesight’s mission to eliminate avoidable blindness while attending a philanthropic luncheon a few years ago. He was inspired when he heard a husband and wife describe their longstanding relationship with the organization.

“I heard a wonderful story from a couple who said that although they had a modest income when they were first married, they still wanted to make a difference. They set aside $10 per month for Operation Eyesight in order to give one individual the gift of sight. Then throughout their lives, when they were able to give more, they increased their level of giving. That story really touched me, and it never left me. I was impressed with how they took their giving to the next level when they could manage it.”

After taking that model to heart, Annapolis Capital is well on its way to becoming a champion of corporate generosity. As Peter says, “Our view is to share the spirit of giving, and what better way to do that than by helping other human beings?”

Read more about the spirit of philanthropy in our recently published Report to Donors, which celebrates the ways Operation Eyesight’s donors have made a dramatic impact in the lives of children, women and men in Africa and India.

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