Article
DUBLIN
,
July 7, 2016
/PRNewswire/ -- Allergan plc is pleased to announce that it is leading the effort to alleviate discomfort of dry eye symptoms for America's heroes and has exceeded its goal of donating
$1 million
worth of REFRESH® eye drops to our nation's first responders. Last summer,
Allergan
kicked off the REFRESH AMERICA campaign aiming to help everyday heroes alleviate their discomfort from dry eye symptoms brought on by exposure to elements like heat, wind, smoke and dust which are inherent to their work. Every purchase of specially-marked packages in the REFRESH OPTIVE®product line since
August 2015
has led to over eighty thousand donations of REFRESH® eye drops to first responder groups nationwide.
"We are thrilled to be donating
$1 million
worth of product to America's first responders, greatly surpassing our original goal of
$250,000
.," said
Brent Saunders
, CEO and President,
Allergan
. "I would like to thank all of those who purchased REFRESH OPTIVE® this past year and made this donation possible. I believe that this campaign is indicative of
Allergan's
continued commitment to leadership within the eye wellness community."
Allergan
partnered with the
U.S. First Responders Association
for this initiative, who helped designate where REFRESH® eye drop donations were most needed.
"We are overjoyed with the support we have received from
Allergan
for the REFRESH AMERICA campaign," said
Traycee Biancamano
, CEO,
U.S. First Responders Association
. "I know first-hand how taxing it is for your eyes to be in an environment that is severely dry, dusty and windy on a daily basis."
While
Allergan's
goal was to reach
$1 million
in REFRESH® products, there is no limit to the amount the company will donate during this campaign. Due to the positive receptivity of first responders and the communities in which they serve,
Allergan
has recently announced that it will extend the REFRESH AMERICA program through the end of 2017 and will continue to help those who put their lives on the line every day.
"First responders continually come to my practice describing common symptoms of dry eye as a result of their working conditions. I recommend REFRESH OPTIVE® Advanced products since they are clinically proven to lubricate for dry eye symptom relief, hydrate the eye surface cells and help protect natural tears from evaporating" said
Marguerite McDonald
, MD, FACS, board-certified ophthalmologist,
Ophthalmic Consultants
of
Long Island
.
Learn more at helpREFRESHAmerica.com.