YouTube star MrBeast helps 1,000 blind people see again by sponsoring cataract surgeries
MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, accepts the award for favorite male creator at the Kids Choice Awards, April 9, 2022, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
The content creator's latest stunt is paying for cataract removal for 1,000 people who were blind or near-blind but could not afford the surgery.
"We're curing a thousand people's blindness," says MrBeast -- real name Jimmy Donaldson -- in the Saturday video, which reached over 32 million views as of Sunday afternoon.
The video features touching before-and-after footage of patients seeing with clear vision after finishing the surgery. The YouTuber also gave cash donations and other gifts to some of the participants.
Jeff Levenson, an ophthalmologist and surgeon, worked with Donaldson to perform the first round of surgeries in Jacksonville, Florida. Levenson has coordinated the "Gift of Sight" program for over 20 years, which provides free cataract surgery for uninsured patients who are legally blind due to cataracts.
"Half of all blindness in the world is people who need a 10-minute surgery," Levenson says in the video, referring to the cataract removal surgery.
Levenson explained to CNN he became inspired to help people access cataract surgery after undergoing his own cataract correction surgery.
"In the days and weeks after my own cataract surgery, I was stunned by how bright and beautiful and vivid the world was," he said. "But I was shocked by the idea that there are hundreds of millions, probably 200 million people around the world, who are blind or nearly blind from cataracts and who don't have access to the surgery."
Levenson got a call from a member of Donaldson's team in September. "I had never heard of MrBeast," he said. "So I almost hung up. But I gratefully did not hang up."
They started by calling homeless shelters and free clinics to create a list of patients in the Jacksonville area who needed cataract surgery but could not afford it. Eventually, they had a group of 40 patients -- and Levenson performed all of their surgeries in a single day, starting at 7 a.m. and ending at 6 p.m.
Levenson said that patients were in "disbelief that somebody would actually seek them out to to rescue them from blindness, and then have the kindness and generosity of spirit to offer the surgery."
The ophthalmologist also connected Donaldson's team with SEE International, for which he serves as the chief medical officer. The nonprofit provides free eyecare around the world to patients in need. The organization helped Donaldson reach even more patients, for a total of 1,000 surgeries completed around three weeks. The video shows patients receiving the surgery in Jamaica, Honduras, Namibia, Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam and Kenya.
Levenson said he hopes the video and Donaldson's generosity inspire "a concerted effort to end needless blindness."
"If MrBeast can light a fire, and if we can get governmental and private support behind it, we can end half of all the blindness in the world," he said. "Without all that much cost, and with incredible gains in human productivity and human potential."
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Vladimir Putin began his fifth term Tuesday as Russian leader at a glittering Kremlin inauguration, setting out on another six years in office after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and concentrating all power in his hands.
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Antisemitism in Canada exploded last year as the war unfolding in Israel and Gaza was used to 'justify' the targeting of Jews in Canada, B'nai Brith said Monday as it released its latest report on antisemitism.
The Manitoba Court of Appeal has dismissed Peter Nygard's application for a judicial review of an order to extradite the former fashion mogul to the United States, where he faces sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
The first female Black superintendent in Toronto Police Service history was attempting to diversify the ranks on her own when she helped six constables cheat in a promotions exam, her lawyer told a police tribunal.
Donald Trump returns to his hush money trial Tuesday facing a threat of jail time for additional gag order violations as prosecutors gear up to summon big-name witnesses in the final weeks of the case.
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
An American soldier has been arrested in Russia and accused of stealing, according to U.S. officials. The soldier was stationed in South Korea and was in the process of returning home to the United States, but travelled to Russia.
Iran and the United Nations' nuclear watchdog are still negotiating over how to implement a deal struck last year to expand inspections of the Islamic Republic's rapidly advancing atomic program, officials said Tuesday.
The FBI has laid out a detailed case showing why agents believe a Florida man is behind his estranged wife's disappearance from her apartment in Spain but gave no indication about what they think happened to her.
Two Australians and an American were doing what they loved on the stunning, largely isolated stretch of Baja California's Pacific coast. Their last images on social media showed them sitting and gazing at the waves, contemplating the breaks.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
India's envoy to Canada is scheduled to speak publicly today for the first time since the RCMP made arrests related to a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic form of late-in-life Alzheimer’s disease — in people who inherit two copies of a worrisome gene.
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Researchers in Israel are turning to artificial intelligence to comb through piles of records to try to identify hundreds of thousands of Jewish people killed in the Holocaust whose names are missing from official memorials.
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Fashion's biggest night out — hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York each year on the first Monday of May — is both a forever-evolving spectacle and a carefully crafted event.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it has opened an investigation into Boeing after the beleaguered company reported that workers at a South Carolina plant falsified inspection records on certain 787 planes.
'Incendiary objects' have allegedly been placed under machinery on the site of Northvolt's future battery plant in Monteregie, seriously endangering employees, according to the company.
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
In particular, messages that involve phishing — an attack where a scammer tries to trick the recipient into clicking a malicious link, downloading malware or sharing sensitive information — are on the rise.
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Drivers in Saskatchewan will now lose their licence for a week and their vehicle for a month if they are caught committing certain high-speed and dangerous offences on the road.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Closing arguments are underway in the trial of a man accused of killing an alleged money launderer and wounding his associate at a Richmond, B.C., restaurant in September 2020.
Despite a better regular season record, including a clean sweep of the Edmonton Oilers, the Vancouver Canucks are entering the second round series between the two teams as underdogs.
A report for the the City of Ottawa's Finance and Corporate Services Committee says planned investments in city infrastructure and assets will not be enough to maintain current service levels 10 years from now.
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Home sales and prices continued to heat up in Ottawa in April as the real estate market showed signs of confidence, according to a new report. Newly released statistics show 1,456 homes and condominiums were sold in Ottawa last month, up 8.9 per cent from April 2023.
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
It was a long time ago, but Jan Novotny still remembers the tanks rumbling through his hometown of Prague in 1968 when the Soviet Union enforced its will on the people of what was then Czechoslovakia.
India's envoy to Canada is scheduled to speak publicly today for the first time since the RCMP made arrests related to a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
The Government of Saskatchewan has paid former Prime Minister Stephen Harper's consulting firm nearly $1 million over the past four years for trade advice. The opposition says it has been blocked while trying to gather more details on the contract.
The possibility of a strike by both Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) rail workers has Saskatchewan's major economic drivers sounding alarms.
There have been two fatal wrong-way collisions on Highway 401 in the last week, and on Sunday, another driver was seen travelling in the opposite direction near Cambridge, Ont.
A couple of Stratford residents claim they have been banned from attending any city owned properties or from speaking with any city staff for three months.
Prince Albert police say a 29-year-old man charged in the murder of his mother had assaulted a staff member at Victoria Hospital the night before the killing.
Aaron Fosseneuve says the official name of the road into his home community of Cumberland House is Highway 123, but locals joke it’s not as easy as 1-2-3 — “it’s more like a 4-5-6.”
The Saskatoon Blades and Moose Jaw Warriors are getting ready for what’s sure to be an epic game seven at Sasktel Centre, capping off one of the tightest series in recent history.
A 32-year-old northern Ontario woman has been charged in a head-on collision on Highway 17 near Espanola that killed one and seriously injured two others Sunday.
Homeowners living near the former McCormick/Beta Brands building are again raising the alarm over a structure that has been vacant for nearly two decades.
Sentencing has been handed down to two men who pleaded guilty for their roles in a Barrie catwalk shooting last spring that left the victim fighting for his life.
With an infectious giggle and a strong desire to help others, Hannah Pare had all the tools to be a spectacular nurse. But that thrill has quickly turned into heartbreaking agony for Hannah's family after complications from a routine surgery cut her life short.
Around 4:30 a.m., OPP posted to social media that residents in the area would see, “A large police presence as OPP units execute a search warrant at a property.”
The Town of Essex is one step closer to establishing a vulnerable person registry. “I don’t want anybody to fall through the cracks,” said Ward 3 Essex Coun. Kim Verbeek after Monday’s town council meeting.
Three suspects accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year are scheduled to appear in court in Surrey on Tuesday.
Amid ongoing protest encampments on university campuses in B.C., the province’s human rights commissioner is calling on institutions to protect free speech.
Models in uniquely designed red dresses are taking to the runway in British Columbia this weekend to make a powerful fashion statement about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
In an effort to increase awareness across the region, the Ontario Provincial Police North East is publicizing intimate partner violence statistics across its 12 detachments from April.
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.
A homeless man in Newfoundland says he refuses to sleep in a shelter after workers wearing balaclavas and haz-mat suits tore down a tent encampment in St. John's on Friday.