Five dollars doesn't sound like much these days. You can get a pack of Tim-Tams, a kilo (or so) of bananas, or a bus ride to nearly anywhere in the city. It's enough to make your day a bit better. But twenty-five years ago, five dollars was enough to make a whole life better. 

Back when Fred Hollows was alive, he could have popped out to the shops to grab a loaf of bread ($1.44), a litre of milk (90c), and a dozen eggs ($2). With all this, he would still have had enough change left over from his fiver to treat himself to a pot of beer ($1.47) at the pub on the way home. Pretty decent when you think about today's prices!1

While setting up the Fred Hollows Foundation, Fred asked Australians to Give Fred a Fiver, because a fiver was all it took for the cost of a sight-saving intraocular lens. While a fiver was worth a lot more in those days, Australians still dug deep, and the Fred Hollows Foundation has gone on to restore the sight of more than two million people around the world. 

Twenty-five years later, our goal remains the same as we continue working to honour Fred's work and end prevent blindness. And despite the increasing cost of almost everything by the day, it can still take only 25 dollars (that's five fivers!) to restore a person’s sight. 

The five dollar note is being updated by the Reserve Bank this year, so we think this is the time to commemorate the incredible changes Fred Hollows has made to people's lives. Let's swap the image of Parliament House with an image of Fred Hollows...and instead of giving Fred a Fiver, let's get his face on there instead. 

Sign our petition so that one day we'll be able to say, “It only takes five Freds to save someone’s sight.”
 
It only takes five Freds to save someone's sight...
Sign the petition to get Fred on the Fiver today. 
 
[1] http://www.news.com.au/national/the-cost-of-living-in-1991/story-e6frfkp9-1111116994537