Our impact
Founded on 26 July 2022 by Jim and Jennifer Cory and Ivan Vallejo, Social Vision is a volunteer-led foundation registered in both the United States and Ecuador.
Our mission
Social Vision's goal is to improve the health and well-being of the community of Cuenca by providing necessary medical treatment to disadvantaged people who need it most.
The name means a vision for people. In Ecuador the foundation is sometimes mistaken for an eye clinic; eye care is one of several programs.
Two organizations, one purpose
Donations from the United States are received by Social Vision, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Work in Ecuador is carried out through Fundación Social Vision Cuenca (FUSOVI). Receipts and legal pages always name the organization that received a gift.
Impact and transparencyWhere it comes from
Jim and Jennifer Cory came to Cuenca after long working lives in California. Jim, a union electrician in San Francisco, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at 45. In Cuenca they kept seeing the same thing in pharmacies: people who could not pay for a prescription and walked away without their medicine.
Jim came to an agreement with a local pharmacy: he left money there, and when a customer came up short, the pharmacy made up the difference. Word spread quickly. With Dr. Ivan Vallejo, an orthopedic and trauma specialist at Hospital Monte Sinaí, they founded Social Vision on 26 July 2022. Roberto Mora guided it to nonprofit status in Ecuador, and it is registered in the United States as well, so that gifts from there reach care here with proper accounting on each side.
The first years brought the work the foundation is known for: surgeries and specialist care arranged with Cuenca’s hospitals, a shipment of meropenem to a public hospital during a shortage, comfort dog visits to wards, and a growing directory of trusted doctors and services. Cuenca Expats Magazine told the story on its June 2023 cover, by which time the foundation had helped more than 60 people directly and over a hundred more informally; by April 2024 it counted more than 100 patients helped.
How we work
What we are not
Social Vision is not a hospital, an eye clinic or an emergency service, and it cannot promise funding for every request. It is a bridge between people who need care and the professionals who can give it.
A coordinator speaks with the family and confirms the treatment and its cost with the treating doctor or hospital before the foundation commits a dollar.
The foundation does not run a clinic. It works with hospitals, clinics and specialists in Cuenca who treat at a cost families and the foundation can meet.
Help never depends on publicity. Stories and photographs appear only with signed consent, and only with the detail the person agreed to.
Two registered organizations, a volunteer board with records of every gift and every delivery. Receipts name the organization that received your gift.
The people
The founders and most of the board come from the United States, where the foundation is a registered charity. The doctors, hospitals and volunteers who give the care are from Cuenca.
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Co-founder and President
A union electrician in San Francisco for most of his working life, Jim was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at 45. He and Jennifer retired to Cuenca, where the foundation began with his arrangement to cover prescriptions at a local pharmacy. Married 42 years, three children, five grandchildren.
Co-founder and Secretary
Jennifer runs the day-to-day work of the foundation: families, partners, donors and the paperwork that keeps two registered organizations in good standing.
Treasurer
A Cuenca resident for nine years. Brian was an executive for two Michigan mayors, a reporter and editor, public relations director for an NBA team and worked at Wells Fargo.
Board member
Owner of El Mercado, one of Cuenca’s most celebrated restaurants, and one of the first friends Jim and Jennifer made in the city. Roberto guided the foundation through Ecuadorian protocols and secured its nonprofit status in Ecuador.
Board member and Spanish-language reviewer
Born in Seattle and raised between the United States and Ecuador, Amy is a real estate agent and facilitator who brings a bicultural, bilingual view of community relations. An animal welfare advocate, she supports both the foundation’s healthcare work and its comfort dog outreach, and reviews its Spanish-language content.
Board member
A college student in California working toward a career as a physician, with a passion for global health security and underserved communities. She brings a young person’s perspective to the board.
Board member
Known to many as Wes the Mentalist, Wes moved to Ecuador in 2021 and has raised nearly $10,000 for local charities through his performances, including a pre-Halloween show for Social Vision. He volunteers with the Cuenca Soup Kitchen and is part of the city’s expat and arts communities.
Honorary board members · In memoriam
Social Vision shared the news of Ray and Linda’s passing in April 2024. Their dedication and guidance were part of the foundation from its first days, and they are deeply missed.
Ray retired in 2008 after a long career in business and financial communications, then worked in an Apple store for a few years to satisfy his inner geek. Linda’s career took her from assistant buyer for a fashion boutique to dealer at blackjack, craps and roulette tables, stockbroker, vice president on Wall Street and trainer for the TSA. They moved to Cuenca in 2013 and became two of the foundation’s most tireless fundraisers and promoters.
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Co-founder and Medical Director
An orthopedic and trauma specialist at Hospital Monte Sinaí and president of the Azuay Orthopedic and Traumatology Society. He sees the foundation’s patients, often at short notice, and leads its medical network.
Ophthalmologist, Exilaser
Past president of the Pan American Association of Ocular Trauma and president of the Ecuadorian Society of Ophthalmology.
Ophthalmologist, Exilaser
Trained in Cuenca, his work in institutions across the city and the country has made him a respected name in local ophthalmology.
Pediatric ophthalmologist, Exilaser
Studied at the University of Azuay in Cuenca and at Hospital Metropolitano in Quito.
Neurologist
A clinical neurologist with a subspecialty in movement disorders, trained at the University of São Paulo in Brazil.
Dermatologist
Practises at Aqua, the Comprehensive Center for Health and Aesthetics in Cuenca. Samantha is one of the patients she has seen for the foundation.
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Like the board, the foundation’s angels give their time freely.
Social worker, Exilaser
Helps the foundation understand each patient’s situation.
Pharmacy angel
Pharmacy angel