The One Eye Open Golf Classic began in 2004 as a small, informal golf outing among close friends in commemoration of a traumatic eye injury one of our members had suffered as a young teenager. Within two years the tournament quickly grew to over 100 participants; and we realized that, with a little effort and planning, we could use our event to raise money for local families in need.
In March 2006, we established the One Eye Foundation, a federally-approved 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, with the goal of providing financial assistance and services to children in need of expensive eye surgeries, treatment and/or visual therapy, as well as other charitable causes throughout the Greater New Orleans area. Knowing firsthand the challenges that a child and his family face when confronted with such conditions, we decided that we could do something with our golf tournament that could directly benefit local children and lift the spirits of their families.
Since incorporating we have raised over $100,000 through sponsorships and private donations. With the proceeds from recent tournaments, we have been able to provide direct financial assistance to local families suffering from various health issues, purchase devices and prostheses for individuals with ophthalmological conditions and problems, purchase medical equipment to be utilized by local physicians to provide pre-adolescent visual screening to children in the Greater New Orleans area and assist other local organizations with their charitable goals.
With the One Eye Open Golf Classic and other events, we hope to continue our efforts to raise funds for families and charities in the Greater New Orleans area into the foreseeable future.