AECP Gala Raises Money for Needed Equipment for Two Hospitals in Armenia

Hundreds of guests gathered at the Armenian EyeCare Project’s (AECP) sold-out Gala on Saturday November 15, 2025 in Costa Mesa, California. This year, AECP’s annual fundraiser was held at the St. Mary Armenian Church’s newly constructed Stambolian Hall.

 

Two Pieces of Equipment Funded for Two Hospitals in Armenia!

 

At this year’s event, AECP had a goal to raise enough funds to purchase two pieces of critical surgical equipment for two hospitals in Armenia: 1) the Marie-Nubar Ophthalmology Clinic, Armenia’s first pediatric ophthalmology clinic located at Yerevan State Medical University and 2) the AECP Mobile Eye Hospital, a mobile clinic with a state-of-the-art surgical suite that travels throughout Armenia to provide eye care to those living in remote regions of Armenia who are in need of services. The guests raised their bid paddles to contribute. The evening’s fundraising goal was reached and surpassed! This means that two eye care facilities in Armenia will be outfitted with new, cutting-edge surgical equipment, which will translate to thousands of lives impacted and sights saved!

 

Corporate Honorees of the Year

 

While raising money to continue its impactful work in Armenia, AECP also had the distinct privilege to honor three groups that have been extremely supportive of the organization’s sight-saving efforts in Armenia: 1) Zeiss, 2) the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), and 3) the Vanitzian Family.

 

Zeiss and the ASCRS Foundation were jointly highlighted as AECP’s Corporate Co-Honorees of the Year. In early 2025, Zeiss donated an invaluable piece of medical equipment to AECP: a brand-new Zeiss OCT-5000 machine to be utilized in AECP’s Regional Eye Center in Spitak within the Lori province of Armenia. The donation of this piece of equipment has been critical in strengthening regional eye care development in Armenia. The OCT 5000 was installed in the Spitak Regional Eye Center to replace the existing equipment that was in use since the establishment of the Center in 2016; the previous OCT was in need of being replaced with a newer version in order to continue providing quality eye care to residents in the region.

 

The American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) and its philanthropic arm, the ASCRS Foundation, was also honored due to its key role in helping AECP secure the recent and invaluable medical equipment donated by Zeiss. With AECP expressing its need for new medical equipment to continue to service its sight-saving initiatives in Armenia to the highest degree, the ASCRS Foundation acted as a conduit between AECP and Zeiss.

 

Family Honoree of the Year

 

The Vanitzian Family was highlighted as AECP’s Family Honoree of the Year. The family’s contributions to AECP in the past several years have been instrumental in the development of both sight-saving and life-changing initiatives in Armenia. This includes the development of the Don H. and Vardi Vanitzian Diagnostic Eye Clinic in Armavir in 2022 as well as the sponsorship and launch of the Sarkis and Shushan Mnatzaganian Glaucoma Project in 2025.

 

Fully outfitted with advanced eye care equipment including resources needed for diabetes care, the Don H. and Vardi Vanitzian Diagnostic Eye Clinic offers a sustainable, long-term solution that solves the issue of accessibility and affordability of eye care for the entire population of the Armavir province and its surrounding areas. The Sarkis and Shushan MnatzaganianGlaucoma Project is a pioneering, three-year initiative in Armenia designed to combat glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. It is Armenia’s first-ever nationwide glaucoma screening project and marks a significant step forward in the country’s fight against preventable blindness.

 

More Sight-Saving Support!

 

AECP Ed expressed its gratitude to AECP Crusader Sponsors Michael and Elizabeth Aghajanian; Diane Barsam; Mark Derderian; the Armen and Gloria Hampar Family Foundation; John and Tanya Hovanesian; and David Keligian.