A Legacy of Support: The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation       

A shared commitment to improve the wellbeing of the people in Michigan began nearly 50 years ago in Midland and Ann Arbor: The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation and the Michigan Eye-Bank were both established in 1957. Thirty years later, Carl Gerstacker, introduced to the Eye-Bank at a dinner meeting in Midland, began a commitment to fund the Midwest Eye-Banks Eye and Vision Research Program – a program that has been renewed annually ever since, with support from Gerstacker totaling $400,000.  That commitment was enhanced by a generous gift of $100,000 to help underwrite the costs of the Eye-Bank’s new laboratory and corporate offices.

At the Midland dinner, Gerstacker made remarks that underscored “his value of eyesight and its importance to every human being,” explains Ned Brandt, vice president and Board member of the Gerstacker Foundation. “The original intent was to support the research area” of the Eye-Bank’s mission. “That, really, was Carl’s major emphasis – doing research into the mysteries of the eye to provide better health for people afflicted with eyesight problems.”

Established by Eda Gerstacker in tribute to her husband, Rollin, the Gerstacker Foundation has devoted many of its resources to supporting the social and physical infrastructure of Midland and several other Michigan communities, university research institutions, music and fine arts, social services, youth activities, and health care, among other causes. The foundation has annually supported the Eye-Bank’s research program, which provides about $100,000 each year to support scientific research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions.

Carl Gerstacker believed that “…people should do good deeds because it’s the right thing to do,” Brandt continues. “You’ll be much happier to give money to society and see it used while you are still alive.”