New York-based HelpMeSee, which also has offices in New Delhi, China and the Netherlands, was recognized Aug. 13 with 11 Stevie Awards at the 12th annual International Business Awards. HelpMeSee is a global campaign with a singular mission to eradicate preventable blindness caused by cataracts — the leading cause of blindness worldwide — within two decades.
The company, whose volunteer medical officer is Indian American Dr. Ajay Singh, was recognized with a silver Stevie Award for Company of the Year in the nonprofit category. Other recognition included Gold Stevie Awards for a video on the HelpMeSee Reach mobile app and the Partners in Sight eNewsletter; Silver Stevie Awards for creative use of Instagram, video and direct mail; and Bronze for its Facebook feed, Twitter feed, the Giving Tuesday Campaign and 2014 Annual Report.
The campaign uses social media as a crucial tool to raise awareness about the health issue of cataract blindness in the developing world and the cost-effective solutions that have been developed. HelpMeSee technologies featured in the winning entries include the HelpMeSee Reach app for community screening, a high-fidelity surgical simulator for training specialists and a single-use surgical kit to improve the quality of care.
Singh has worked closely with HelpMeSee chief medical officer Dr. Glenn Strauss in developing the surgical simulation technology needed to provide cataract surgical training in the developing world. Most recently he has co-authored a paper with Strauss on the need for advanced simulation for microsurgical training.
More than 3,700 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration. Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 200 executives worldwide who participated in the judging process from May through early August.
In their comments on the entries, the judges highlighted HelpMeSee’s “incredible use of technology to solve a common problem,” according to a statement. The International Business Awards are one of the world’s premier business awards program. All individuals and organizations worldwide are eligible to submit nominations. The 2015 competition received entries from more than 60 nations and territories. Dr. Ajay Singh, was recognized with a silver Stevie Award for Company of the Year HelpMeSee and all the Stevie Awards winners will be presented with their awards at a banquet in Toronto Oct. 23.
