About Us
Founder, CEO
My name is Nirvon Mahdavi, and I started a small, student-run nonprofit called EyeHope. It started in 2018, when I completed a general service project in Bogota, Colombia, and it was an eye-opening experience for me. I wanted to return back in 2019, but this time asking the program coordinators in Colombia what extra I can do or bring with me for the next trip. Many mentioned eyeglasses, especially for the boys in the government programs who were looking for a more seamless learning experience to one day reach their goal of secondary education. In September 2019, I completed a small project: collecting eyeglasses, then sanitizing, scanning prescriptions, placing into a database, and redistributing towards people in need. Simply seeing the impact of this small project, this journey has inspired me to continue to serve as many people as possible. That is when EyeHope was created! I am very passionate about this project and cannot wait to see it grow.
COO
My name is Melody Sadri, and I am the Chief Operating Officer here at EyeHope. I joined the EyeHope team in 2019 where we geared up a mass collection of eyeglasses to soon be donated to those in need. I have had the privilege of working with such an amazing group who is both passionate about providing resources and educational services for eye-care. EyeHope really is a large public health initiative, and it is my job to seek areas that need the most help and make sure the operations of the organization run smoothly. Just like anyone else on our team, it is my passion to help as many people as possible. Eyeglasses are a big privilege that many of us take for granted, so it is wonderful to take a part in changing people’s lives one pair of eyeglasses at a time.
Our Team
We are currently a team of 16 students striving to make a difference. Over the first nine months of 2019, this organization was able to collect over 1,000 pairs of eyeglasses. Now with a much larger team, we have volunteers travel for donations almost daily to collect eyewear. We have a goal to reach 5,000 pairs by the end of 2021. Much of our corrective lens supply comes simply from donations. We are extremely excited to expand this project to multiple communities in 2022!