RPB begins annual membership campaign

Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) looks to enlist the support of the nation’s practicing ophthalmologists during the group’s 34th annual membership drive. The goal is to help RPB maintain its status as a public foundation and to expand awareness of the group throughout the entire eye-care community.

Each year as older members retire, new members account for 20% of RPB’s membership base, the organization said. Member benefits include access to free printed materials for patients, listing in RPB’s online practitioner directory, a national print ad campaign promoting the directory, and the ability to purchase and send tributes to patients’ families.

RPB Chairman David Weeks said all membership income and bequests are utilized in their entirety to fund eye research. An endowment created by founder Jules Stein, MD, pays all of the group’s operating expenses.

In the past 18 months, RPB has committed more than $14 million to eye research, bringing its lifetime support to more than $236 million.