Popular Youtuber MrBeast has paid for 1,000 blind or almost-blind people to get life-changing surgery to restore their sight.
MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, released a video on Saturday detailing the thousand people getting cataracts removed with the help of the non-profit eye care organization, See.
The 24-year-old star also gave $10,000 to a number of patients, bought one a Tesla, and even donated a huge sum to one's university fund.
“We’re curing a thousand people’s blindness,” says Mr Donaldson in the video released Saturday, which had already wracked up 32 million views by Monday morning.
The video featured touching before and after interviews with some of the patients.
When one patient is asked what the first thing he's excited to see post surgery, he responds: "My son. He's been my rock through all of this."
"Seeing him. Seeing his face. That's what I miss you know."
The man burst into tears when the bandages were removed and his son was standing there. The grateful patient said: "I can see everyone's facial features now. Just a little blurry with my tears coming out."
Another patient, Jeremiah, was also given $50,000 to help with his college education.
Cataracts is the name for when the lens, a small transparent disc inside your eye, becomes cloudy. Over time these cloudy patches can become bigger causing blurry, misty vision and eventually blindness.
As Mr Donaldson says in the video: "Blindness can take away parts of your life."
With over 130m subscribers MrBeast is the most-subscribed channel which does not belong to a company.
Mr Donaldson worked with ophthalmologist and surgeon Jeff Levenson on the project, performing the first round of surgeries in Jacksonville, Florida.
He has coordinated the “Gift of Sight” program for over 20 years, which provides free cataract surgery for patients legally blind due to cataracts.
In the video, Dr Levenson says “Half of all blindness in the world is people who need a 10-minute surgery."
He was inspired to help people with cataract surgeries after seeing the difference the simple procedure had on his own sight.
He told CNN: “In the days and weeks after my own cataract surgery, I was stunned by how bright and beautiful and vivid the world was.
“But I was shocked by the idea that there are hundreds of millions, probably 200 million people around the world, who are blind or nearly blind from cataracts and who don’t have access to the surgery.”
A member of MrBeast's team called in September with an offer to start working together.
They called homeless shelters and clinics in the Jacksonville area who needed surgery but couldn't afford it.
Dr Levenson said that they were in “disbelief that somebody would actually seek them out to to rescue them from blindness, and then have the kindness and generosity of spirit to offer the surgery.”
From there the sight-restoring team being working with SEE International which helped them reach even more people.
The video shows patients being treated in Jamaica, Honduras, Namibia, Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam and Kenya.
