Every Tuesday, the Jason Taylor Foundation dedicates the day to spotlighting one of our partners, volunteers, or celebrity friends that have supported our tireless efforts toward building a brighter future for the youth of the South Florida community.
This week the JTF would like to spotlight the Marc Jaiden Project. The Marc Jaiden Project, created by Marc Barbier, is designed to combat the difficult struggle of blindness. Barbier, who worked in the eye care industry for more than 20 years, made it his mission to help restore vision to the less fortunate that cannot afford vision treatment on their own.
“Other parts of the world see eye care as a luxury, not a necessity,” stated Barbier.
He added that in some countries, blindness is just as prevalent as dying from cancer. For hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals in some of these countries, the Marc Jaiden Project has been the difference they’ve been hoping for, turning an improbable luxury into a possibility.
Over the last several years, the Marc Jaiden Project has been to Haiti once and Jamaica twice. This past year, they saw more than 2,100 people in Jamaica during their trip and were able to supply glasses to the patients in need of corrective eyewear. Marc recalls one patient in particular that really stuck out to him. The Project was able to help a woman who needed glasses for nearly 44 years, but was unable to afford them. The true meaningfulness of their Project was shown when Marc viewed the woman place her glasses on for the first time, allowing her to see clearly again.
In preparation for each trip, Marc and his staff organize approximately 2,000 pairs of glasses into different containers, sorted by the strength of each prescription. The Project also brings several Doctors along for the trip to help provide eye examinations and screenings prior to issuing glasses. In the US, the Marc Jaiden Project has worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters to help children in need get the treatment that they deserve.
The Jason Taylor Foundation recognized the incredible work that the Marc Jaiden Project had been doing, in a field that we were not particularly focused in, which led to a new and exciting partnership. The Jason Taylor Foundation is proud to work with such an amazing group of people who share a common goal of building a better future for children in need.
