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OTHER NEWS
Lions Eye Bank reaches community goal
By Amy Smolik
Marketing & Communications Manager
The South Dakota Lions Eye Bank is seeing progress on its new building thanks to the generous support from the Sioux Falls area business community. The eye bank successfully completed its Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce-approved community appeal.
“This is a fun, cozy little house — but we’re over-cramped and have some technical challenges, like ceilings too low in our lab,” said Executive Director Jens Saakvitne of the Eye Bank’s current location in a former home near Sanford Hospital and Sioux Falls Seminary on W. 22nd Street.
To accommodate the need for additional space and the relocation, the South Dakota Lions Eye Bank is building a new, 16,000 sq. ft. facility near the junction of Interstates 29 and 90 and the Sioux Falls Regional Airport. This new facility, which is a $3.2 million project, will help the South Dakota Lions Eye Bank to fully serve those in need of eye and tissue transplants and to advance the recovery service program. The eye bank’s goal was to raise $800,000 from the business community as part of the Chamber-approved Community Appeals campaign; they exceeded that goal and raised just over $812,000 by the end of 2009. Ground was broken on the new building in the fall of 2009 and work has continued throughout the winter.
Saakvitne anticipates the staff will be able to move in to the new facility by late August. The design includes an environmentally-friendly roof, geo-thermal heating and cooling, temperature controlled environments, landscaping with natural grasses and used gray and rain water for irrigation.
“We are striving for excellence in all we do and it’s very exciting to have a building that supports that,” Saakvitne said.
The new facility will also aid in developing more donor family support during the challenging time that they are reaching out to people they’ve never met with the gift of sight, Saakvitne said. The increased room will allow the organization to expand and allow for partnerships to increase efficiency and work with like-minded agencies.
“This will really be a benefit to all of South Dakota and Sioux Falls has done an extraordinary job of supporting us,” Saakvitne said.
Saakvitne started as the new executive director for the South Dakota Lions Eye Bank on Jan. 1 and has been active in monitoring the building process since then but wasn’t as involved in the campaign fundraising, which wrapped up before he started. He praised Interim Executive Director Larry Toll for moving the process along, along with volunteers Roger Braaten and the late Al Schock for their fundraising efforts. Saakvitne also credits the Lions Clubs across South Dakota for their fundraising efforts, not only for the new building, but also for providing the funding to start the organization.
For more information about the South Dakota Lions Eye Bank, visit www.sdleb.org or call 1 (800) 245-7846. |
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