Our 2025 Gala

It was a magical evening as hundreds of guests gathered at AECP’s sold-out Gala on Saturday November 15, 2025 in Costa Mesa, California. Our most recent annual fundraiser was held at the St. Mary Armenian Church’s newly constructed Stambolian Hall, which was transformed with twinkling lights, lush florals and an unmatched ambiance to create an enchanting experience for all who came out to support. Most important, friends and supporters who attended the event were able to celebrate AECP’s incredible accomplishments over the past year and recognize the immense impact that our organization’s sight-saving work has in Armenia. It was a true celebration of the magic of sight.

Two Pieces of Equipment Funded for Two Hospitals in Armenia!

At our event, AECP’s goal was 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. Motivated by kindness, compassion and generosity, guests passionately 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 our impactful work in Armenia, AECP also had the distinct privilege to honor three groups that have been extremely supportive of our sight-saving efforts in Armenia. 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 our sight-saving initiatives in Armenia to the highest degree, the ASCRS Foundation graciously and enthusiastically acted as a conduit between AECP and Zeiss. The Foundation helped to generate a strong connection and relationship between AECP and Zeiss at a critical time and made an immeasurable impact in Zeiss’ in-kind donation.

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 Mnatzaganian Glaucoma 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 would like to express its sincere gratitude to everyone who extended their support of our organization at our recent event. We would especially like to highlight our large event sponsors, who made it possible for AECP to host such a successful night. Our deepest thanks to AECP Crusader Sponsors Mr. and Mrs. Michael and Elizabeth Aghajanian; Ms. Diane Barsam; Mr. Mark Derderian; the Armen and Gloria Hampar Family Foundation; Dr. and Mrs. John and Tanya Hovanesian; and Mr. David Keligian, along with the many other event and table sponsors who contributed to our event.

With the support of our outstanding community of invaluable partners and honorees, generous sponsors and wonderful guests, AECP continues to fulfill our lifelong mission: to eliminate preventable blindness in Armenia and make quality eye care accessible for every child and adult in the country.

WHERE WE WORK