You've found your people.
The 5th annualEye Connect
A live virtual gathering for anyone living with eye loss, a prosthetic eye, an eye patch, vision loss or an eye condition, plus the partners, parents, friends and ocularists who love them.
- 5th year
- 12 countries
- 400+ people who get it
- This year: 400 of us in one room
What people said about last year.
Straight from the chat. These are the messages we got after we signed off.
- 👁️
Eye Connect attendee
I woke up this morning proud of having one eye and rocking my eye patch. I don't need to hide it, it's my superpower now.
❤️ 💪
- 👁️
Eye Connect attendee
I lived the vast majority of my life (60+ years) not knowing anyone else with one eye. Suddenly, I feel deeply connected to a whole group of people with the same lived experience. That is golden.
🥹 ❤️
- 👁️
Eye Connect 2025 attendee
I underestimated how meaningful it would be to be in a room full of fellow one-eyed people. We laughed, cried, and were inspired together.
🙌
This isn't another Zoom conference.
What if you didn't have to explain your eye? What if you could log into a Zoom room full of people who just get it?
For five years, Eye Connect has brought together the eye-loss, prosthetic-eye, eye patch, monocular vision and eye-difference communities. And every single year, we hear the same thing:
"My favorite part was the breakout rooms."
So we listened. This year, connection is the main event.
More time in small breakout rooms where you can meet people, share your story, hear theirs, laugh, ask questions, swap advice, and feel what happens when you realize:
I'm not the only one.
Less watching. More connecting.
Four hours. Four rounds of breakout rooms, with new people every round. Short main-stage moments in between so we can cheer, laugh and give stuff away.
- Doors openMusic, the chat going crazy, hellos from every time zone.
- Welcome + ShelbyFive years of Eye Connect, why this year's different, and Shelby's first-ever talk.
- 1
Your story
- Where are you joining from?
- What's your connection to the eye community?
- What do you wish more people understood?
- Main roomShare-outs, surprise speaker #1, giveaway.
- 2
Real life
- What's something no one prepared you for?
- What's helped you most?
- What would you tell someone at the start of this journey?
- Main roomMore surprise voices from the community.
- 3
Find your people
Less structure, more hanging out. Swap handles, resources, questions. This is where the friendships happen.
- Main roomRapid-fire community stories + another giveaway.
- 4
What's next
- What are you taking away from today?
- Who do you want to stay connected with?
- What are you proud of yourself for?
- The finaleFinal surprise guest, the big giveaway, and the group screenshot. You'll want to be in it.
Breakout rooms are never recorded. Share as much or as little as you want.
You're not just attending. You're part of it.
In your breakout room, you might meet:
- Someone who lost their eye last year.
- Someone who's worn a prosthetic since childhood.
- Someone navigating vision changes right now.
- A parent. A partner. A survivor.
- Someone who's never met another person like them.
- Someone across the world whose story sounds a lot like yours.
That's the magic of Eye Connect.
This year, bring your person.
Partners, spouses, parents, best friends. The ones who sat in the waiting rooms, drove you to appointments and learned which side to walk on.
This one's for them too. They'll see firsthand what this community means to you, and meet other partners, parents and friends walking the same road.
Who else will be in the room?
We're not announcing everyone. Throughout the day we'll bring in surprise voices from our community. No hour-long presentations, no endless speaker lineup. Short, powerful stories from people who've actually lived it.
You'll have to be there to see who shows up. 👀
Giveaways all day.
EYEHESIVE merch, plus a few fun surprises we're keeping quiet for now.
You have to be in the room to win.
For the first time everShelby is speaking at Eye Connect.
After losing her right eye in a life-changing accident in 2021, Shelby Perry founded EYEHESIVE and built the One Eye Era community around one belief: our lives don't have to get smaller because our vision changed.
For four years, she's created the room. This year, she's finally taking the virtual stage herself.
The best part was never the presentations.
It was finding each other.
If it took me losing my eye to meet all of you and be a part of this badass community, then I am lucky to have lost my eye.Eye Connect attendee
I have needed this resource all my life, and never knew it. What a beautiful community of truly special people. I shed some tears of gratitude after we signed off.Eye Connect attendee
I'm pretty shy and have social anxiety, so this was out of my comfort zone. I'm so happy I signed up, because that was the most healing and validating experience of my life.Eye Connect attendee
There's a seat for you.
Eye Connect is for anyone whose life has been touched by their eyes or vision, including:
- Retinoblastoma, ocular melanoma, glaucoma and similar eye conditions
- Loss of an eye due to trauma
- Vision loss in one or both eyes from disease or infection
- Congenital eye conditions, like underdeveloped or missing eyes
- Prosthetic eye wearers
- Eye patch wearers
- Parents + caregivers of kids with eye prosthetics or eye removal surgery
- Ocularists who want to support their patients emotionally
- Partners, friends + family supporting someone through any of this
You don't need the same story. You just need to come ready to be part of the room.
One ticket option. One global room.
No VIP. No upgrades. No complicated ticket levels.
$33
1 ticket = 1 person. Everyone attending needs their own.
The full four-hour live experience: every breakout round, the community speakers, Shelby's talk, the giveaways, and the people.
- US PacificSat Nov 14, 1–5 PM
- US EasternSat Nov 14, 4–8 PM
- LondonSat 9 PM – Sun 1 AM
- Sydney / MelbourneSun Nov 15, 8 AM–12 PM
- BrisbaneSun Nov 15, 7–11 AM
Gift a seat 🎁
Your kid, your partner, your best friend, a patient, someone who just got their diagnosis. Grab them a ticket.
After checkout, reply to your confirmation email with their name + email and we'll send their Zoom link straight to them.
Who needs to hear about this?
So many people in this community have never met someone like them. One text could change that.
- Ocularists + eye care prosYou meet people at one of the hardest moments of their lives. This is a room you can hand them. And come yourself. Hearing what your patients wish you knew is worth four hours.
- Parents + caregiversWhether your kid is navigating this or you are, there are parents in this community who've been exactly where you are.
- Partners, friends + familySend it to the person you're thinking about right now. Better yet, come together.
Questions
Where does Eye Connect happen?
Everything happens live on Zoom. Your access info gets emailed to you before the event.
What time is it where I live?
1:00–5:00 PM Pacific on Saturday, November 14. That's 4–8 PM Eastern, 9 PM in London, and Sunday morning in Australia (8 AM Sydney/Melbourne, 7 AM Brisbane).
Do I have to talk in the breakout rooms?
Nope. We'd love for you to jump in because connection is the whole point, but share at whatever level feels good to you. Listening counts.
Do I need to have a prosthetic eye?
No. Eye Connect brings together people with all kinds of experiences with eye loss, eye conditions and vision, plus the people who love and support them.
Does everyone need their own ticket?
Yes. Every person attending needs their own ticket, including partners, friends, family and kids. One ticket = one person, so everyone gets their own Zoom link and their own spot in the breakout rooms.
Can my partner or a friend come?
Yes, please bring them! Just grab them their own ticket. After checkout, reply to your confirmation email with their name + email and we'll send their Zoom link straight to them.
Will it be recorded?
The main-stage parts will be. Breakout rooms are never recorded, so everyone can speak openly.
Can I join from outside the US?
YES. Eye Connect is global. Saturday in America, Sunday in Australia, one room.
Can I buy a ticket for someone else?
Absolutely. Buy a seat, then reply to your confirmation email with their name + email and we'll send the Zoom link straight to them.
I'm an ocularist or eye care provider. Can I come?
Please do. You're welcome in the main room and the breakouts, and our community would love to meet you.
How do I get the Zoom link?
It goes to the email you used at checkout, along with final event instructions as we get closer.