EmpowerTheBlind was founded on the idea of bringing about meaningful change through an infrastructure that could sustain itself after being built without needing a continuous stream of donations or support. That is why we partnered with 20x20x20, which builds hospital clinics in impoverished areas in the most desperate need of cataract surgery and teaches the local community how to conduct these surgeries.

We specifically chose cataract surgeries because they can restore vision to an impoverished child at a price of only $200 (much cheaper than most surgeries) and in impoverished nations without health insurance, losing your eyesight also means losing your livelihood and a way to provide for your entire family.

Outside of our close partnership with 20x20x20, we have built a sustainable force for change through strong relationships with

• Local businesses (Sai Baba Market and Tedeschi), which proudly collect donations through our donation boxes and chains such as Panera Bread which, in exchange for driving customers to a door on a particular slow day would give us a portion of proceeds from the meals served.
• Our local school community in which we sell our branded merchandise (T-Shirts and wristbands) and food at several yearly events.
• The Westford Farmers Market in which we have been spreading awareness and collecting donations through our hard to pass on refreshing mango lassi for 3+ years.
• Cultural center in which volunteers frequently set up booths during special holidays such as Holi as well as Diwali and during garbas.

Our achievements would not have been possible without the help of our volunteers as well as the leadership infrastructure we created. Our brand and team structure became so strong that we were even able to successfully franchise EmpowerTheBlind to other schools.

Overall, EmpowerTheBlind has been recognized by local papers, our partners, and even by the Young Entrepreneur Foundation, which recognized its founder as one of the Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs in the Nation. And most importantly it has helped restore a vision and a life to hundreds of impoverished children around the world through the more than $30,000 dollars raised.