Lieberman’s Estate-Plan Gift Supports Orbis’s Training “That Changes Lives”

Ray Lieberman was a self-made man who had first-hand experience with the importance of vision—and the importance of training. He was also a wise donor. He put Orbis in his estate plan (thereby becoming a member of the Orbis Visionary Club) in a way that provided for loved ones as well as Orbis.

“I tell everybody about Orbis because I think it’s so fantastic,” he said. “Incredible, the training you’re doing. Training somebody to give the gift of sight. Wow!”

Ray identified with vision issues because he had dyslexia. “I couldn’t write, couldn’t take notes because I couldn’t spell—I couldn’t picture words,” he said. “I couldn’t keep up and got very depressed—I dropped out of high school.”

But he lived in Detroit, and General Motors at that time offered free training. Ray took dozens of auto repair classes and thrived.

“I’m a nuts and bolts man,” he said. “I’m not fancy.”

After working for someone else, he opened his own auto air conditioning repair shop. With “honesty is the best policy” as his guiding star, his shop got a reputation for fair dealing. In warm weather, the line for his shop went around the block.

He was so successful, he retired at the age of 35 and moved to Florida. There he volunteered at the local vocational school to teach welding and air conditioning.

“People who have a future flipping hamburgers can learn to be welders and make a decent living,” he said. When Spell Check was invented, he began writing a weekly column called Auto Sense for a local paper about automotive repair and maintenance. As a retiree, he worked in his garage doing cabinet making, stained glass, and helping neighbors—sometimes by welding and fixing things for them.

Because of his dyslexia, he studied all about the eye. “About half of your brain is devoted to sight,” he said. “It’s incredible how much sight means to a person. It doesn’t just affect one person in a family; it affects everyone else too. If you restore vision, it’s as close to a miracle as you can get. And it creates opportunities for the people who have their sight restored—to go back to work, to go back to school.”

Training made all the difference in his life, and he loved Orbis for the training it does.

“What you’re doing is not fancy. Most charities you give to, they take the money, buy food, give it away, and that’s that. But Orbis is educating local doctors to do more. That’s mind blowing. I don’t know any other organization that does that. It’s so smart. That’s the way it should be—teach someone. That training changes lives. I think your organization is fantastic. If we could do more like that, the world would be better off.”

You, like Ray, can be a wise donor, providing for loved ones and for Orbis through your estate plan. Become an Orbis Visionary Club member! You’ll create a legacy of helping others gain access to eye care that prevents or reverses their blindness. Contact us with any questions you may have.