Tag: Funds

Sermo CEO Launches ‘Be Your Possible’ to Raise Funds for Medical Research and Advocate for Those Battling Critical Illness

Organization’s Core Goal: Helping Others Find and Take Steps Toward Their Own Possible

NEW YORK, March 28, 2023–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Peter Kirk, CEO of Sermo, has launched Be Your Possible, a global charitable organization committed to raising funds for medical research and inspiring others to take steps towards their “possible”.

Be Your Possible’s mission to inspire others and fundraise for research was born from Kirk’s own harrowing experience of surviving Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a rare cancer of the blood and bone marrow. After receiving a terminal diagnosis and being intubated in the ICU with double lung pneumonia, Kirk received a blood stem cell transplant that saved his life.

“A 25-year-old man named Sam saved my life when he donated 850 million wonderful stem cells that ultimately made my transplant possible,” Kirk said. “A kind stranger gave me another chance at life, and this wouldn’t have been conceivable without the decades of medical research that went into advancing the transplant process and the work of oncologists around the world. Through Be Your Possible, we’re aiming to expand access to life-saving medical treatments to people on a global scale by funding vital medical research, moving scientific breakthroughs forward, and offering support to those who receive critical diagnoses like mine.”

Peter’s “possible” is running 1,000 half marathons by the 10th anniversary of his transplant to raise $1 million for blood stem cell cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he received his own life-saving transplant. Be Your Possible will also offer opportunities and events to empower not only other patients, but everyone to take steps toward finding their own possible, from exercise to education and personal growth.

Be Your Possible’s flagship event is Run with Peter-Run for Research, a global doctor-led run that takes place annually in June. Inspired by Kirk’s incredible completion of the NYC Marathon five months post-transplant, the inaugural event mobilized thousands of physicians in 77 countries to run or walk with Kirk in support of medical research causes, chosen by physician runners themselves. Founding partner Sermo donated $250,000 to the various causes chosen by physician participants, including the American Heart Association, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where Kirk received his life-saving blood stem cell transplant.

Our core belief is that anything is possible, taking one step at a time TOGETHER. To learn more, visit beyourpossible.com

About Be Your Possible:

Born from Founder and Sermo CEO Peter Kirk’s harrowing experience with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, journey to recovery, and commitment to inspiring others to be their possible, Be Your Possible is a global charitable organization committed to raising awareness and funds for medical research to help others benefit from life-saving treatments, such as Peter’s own blood stem cell transplant.

The organization was founded in 2022 launching its first initiative, Run with Peter-Run for Research, a global movement mobilizing thousands of physicians to run or walk in support of medical research.

Peter’s “possible” is running 1,000 half marathons by the 10th anniversary of his transplant.

We pledge to empower not only other patients, but everyone to take steps toward finding their own possible, from exercise to education and personal growth. Our core belief is that anything is possible, by taking one step at a time, TOGETHER. To learn more, visit beyourpossible.com

About Sermo:

Sermo is the largest global healthcare research company and the most trusted physician engagement platform. Sermo engages with more than 1.3 million HCPs across 150 countries and has reach into the U.S. Payer market that now exceeds 230M commercial lives covered.

For over 20 years, Sermo has been turning physician experience, expertise, and observations into actionable business insights that benefit pharmaceutical companies, healthcare partners, and the medical community at large. Sermo offers on-demand access to physicians via a proprietary health-tech ecosystem to gain targeted HCP insights that inform strategic decisioning in real-time. Visit www.sermo.com/business

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230328005418/en/

Contacts

Media:
Allyson Noonan
AN Communications
allyson.noonan@gmail.com

YouTube Star MrBeast Funds Cataract Surgery For 1,000 Blind People

Cataracts aren’t ordinarily a large draw on social media, but millions of men and women are acquiring out about this foremost bring about of blindness — and the 10-moment surgical procedure that can fix it — just after a viral movie posted by YouTube star MrBeast.

In the clip, titled “1,000 Blind Individuals See For The Initial Time,” the material creator — whose genuine identify is Jimmy Donaldson — announces that he has compensated for cataract surgeries for hundreds of people who couldn’t afford to pay for the process.

“When people go into medical procedures, there’s a chance that they can get their lifestyle back,” Donaldson, who is the most-followed specific YouTuber in the globe with 131 million subscribers, claims in the movie.

“I needed to deliver this to as lots of men and women as achievable.”

He explains why cataracts cause eyesight reduction: The lens of the eye gets so cloudy that people today cannot see through it. That normally comes about with growing old, but cataracts can also type soon after an eye personal injury or immediately after an procedure for a different eye issue, in accordance to the Nationwide Eye Institute. Modern Savannah Guthrie essential cataract surgical treatment in 2020 soon after she underwent retinal detachment operation.

Some individuals are also born with cataracts and some produce them in childhood, says Dr. Jeffrey Levenson, an ophthalmologist in Jacksonville, Florida, who took element in the MrBeast undertaking.

“About fifty percent of all the blindness in the planet is triggered by cataracts,” Levenson tells Currently.com.

“There’s a 10-minute surgery that can eliminate blindness, so there’s no reason that half of all these men and women ought to be blind.”

YouTube Star MrBeast Funds Cataract Surgery For 1,000 Blind People
Jimmy Donaldson, recognized as MrBeast on YouTube, remaining, enlisted the enable of Dr. Jeffrey Levenson, an ophthalmologist in Jacksonville, Florida, for the job.Courtesy Dr. Jeffrey Levenson

Treatment is out of the get to for numerous men and women

The medical procedures consists of removing the clouded lens and changing it with a new synthetic a person. It’s really safe and sound, and 9 out of 10 persons who get it can see greater later on, Nationwide Eye Institute notes.

In the YouTube online video, which has been considered much more than 70 million occasions considering the fact that Jan. 29, people are demonstrated searching at the planet in disbelief, crying and rejoicing when they learn they can see plainly right after their eye bandages are eradicated submit-surgical treatment. Some also obtain countless numbers of dollars from Donaldson. One particular individual who couldn’t push prior to the treatment gets a Tesla.

Levenson performed cataract surgeries on 40 people on Oct. 7, 2022, as part of the project.
Levenson carried out cataract surgeries on 40 folks on Oct. 7, 2022, as section of the venture.Courtesy Dr. Jeffrey Levenson

Levenson says the YouTuber contacted him in September 2022 following looking at the ophthalmologist’s Ted Talk about ending preventable blindness. The medical professional is also a board member of Eyesight Is Priceless, a Florida charity.

“He stated ‘Hey, it is Mr. Beast and I want to do absolutely free cataract surgical treatment all all over the planet for a 1,000 folks in 3 months,’” Levenson recalls.

“I’ve in no way listened to of him and it sounded ridiculous and I pretty much hung up. I determined not to hold up and I’m glad I didn’t.”

Levenson then attained out to free and homeless clinics around Jacksonville, Florida, and located 40 individuals who ended up blind but not able to spend for cataract surgical procedures.

Professional overall health insurance policy, Medicaid and Medicare deal with cataract operation, but there are individuals who slide in between the cracks, Levenson suggests. He estimates there are 500,000 folks in Florida alone who are blind — typically due to cataracts and other repairable circumstances — but never have health insurance. The surgical procedures, even following sizeable special discounts, charges $2,000 out of pocket in the U.S., he claims.

“It’s out of the attain of the wonderful a lot of folks, particularly at the time you are blind and are not doing work and not able to assistance you,” Levenson notes.

“As you drop your eyesight, you reduce your autonomy you eliminate your skill to handle the features of your life.”

Encouraging people see clearly again

He carried out cataract medical procedures on all 40 people in one particular day, working from 7 a.m. until finally about 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 7, 2022, he says, describing the people as surprised and grateful that someone would pay back for the process.

Levenson, who serves as the chief health-related officer for Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE) Intercontinental, related Donaldson with the charity to total the 1,000 cataract surgical procedures all around the earth. The YouTube video lists Mexico, Honduras, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, Kenya and Jamaica as the nations around the world the place Donaldson compensated for the treatments. Levenson verified 1,000 people full have been addressed as part of MrBeast’s project.

But some social media end users have criticized the online video. 1 commenter identified as it “a tacky and tasteless act of charity porn,” the BBC noted. “How does nobody recognize MrBeast is in search of attention with this blind curing [expletive]?” one more Twitter consumer wrote.

Donaldson did not reply to a request for remark, but Levenson says he’s hopeful the viral video clip will be a catalyst for alter.

“There’s no reason, given our latest point out of technological know-how, that 20 million individuals in the earth ought to be blind for want of a 10-moment medical procedures,” he notes.

“There’s practically nothing like getting a blind man or woman and helping them see once again. It’s endlessly fascinating and pleasurable and thrilling. It is my most loved issue in the world to do.”