MIRA Foundation USA, the only organization in the U.S. dedicated to pairing guide dogs with children and youth between the ages of 11-16, announces that Carolina Eye Associates P.A. has achieved the distinction of becoming MIRA's first "Visionary Partner."

This recognition is given by MIRA to a corporate or professional entity whose level of support in one calendar year is sufficient to enable MIRA to pair at least one student with a guide dog. The commitment of Carolina Eye's professionals to MIRA's work in each of the last two years has created the opportunity for two students to receive guide dogs.

As a direct result of Carolina Eye's support in 2010, MIRA was able to provide a guide dog to an 11-year-old girl in the San Diego area. Almost a full year later, she and her MIRA dog are thriving and busy while she maintains a straight A average in school, plays three musical instruments, and creates PowerPoint talks about MIRA and guide dogs in an effort to educate her peers about the challenges of being blind and guide dog etiquette.

This summer, six students will be receiving MIRA guide dogs, including two from Moore County. Once again, Carolina Eye Associates' support has made a significant impact.

"As a result, MIRA is delighted to announce that the two dogs, which will be placed with Moore County students, will carry the names 'Gale' and 'Martin' in memory of Carolina Eye's visionary founder, Dr. Robert Gale Martin, who passed away in 2008 at the age of 65," says a spokesman.

Martin was an internationally renowned ophthalmic surgeon who dedicated his life to his family and his work. When he invited Dr. George Tate to join him in founding Carolina Eye Associates in 1978, Martin already had served a distinguished career as an ophthalmic surgeon in the Army, most notably with the 5th Special Forces Group during the Vietnam War. By the time he founded Carolina Eye Associates, Martin had also gained a distinguished reputation for his innovative surgical techniques in small-incision cataract surgery, corneal relaxing incisions, and lens replacement. He continued to be a pioneer in the field of ophthalmic medicine for the next 26 years until his untimely death.

Martin's legacy endures through the more than 165 publications he authored or co-authored, the ongoing work of the many fine professionals at his beloved clinic on Midland Road, and now the guide dogs, Gale and Martin, who will soon be fulfilling the dreams of two deserving students by providing them with a level of freedom and independence they could not otherwise ever hope to experience.

To learn more about Carolina Eye Associates on Midland Road, visit their website at www.carolinaeye.com, and to see photos of MIRA dogs and students and obtain information about MIRA Foundation USA, visit www.mirausa.org.