Keep your eye on grace

About Us

The Eye on Grace Foundation was founded in 2024 by Ashley McCrary, an Ocular Melanoma (OM) patient. Ashley was diagnosed in 2012 and had to have her right eye removed. By 2020, the cancer had spread to her liver, then lung and breast. Ashley traveled weekly from Auburn, AL to Philadelphia, PA from 2021 to early 2025 to participate in a clinical trial. She was blessed with minimal travel expenses due to a cancer indemnity plan with AFLAC and trial sponsorship. However, not all patients are so fortunate.

To "pay it forward," Ashley, her husband Dave, and her children started the foundation to help others with OM travel for life-saving treatment.

Our Motto

Our motto is “keep your eye on grace.” II Corinthians 12:9 reminds us that our struggles are met with an abundance of God's grace and strength. This can transform how we navigate difficulties, focusing on the sufficiency of grace rather than the obstacles.

We believe every person is made in the image of God and worthy of care. Our travel grants are available to all individuals affected by Ocular Melanoma—regardless of race, religion, gender, or orientation. We are committed to showing God's love by helping anyone in need, without exception.

Speaking Engagements

Book Ashley to Speak

Ashley McCrary has a deep passion for speaking engagements that inspire faith and raise awareness about Ocular Melanoma (OM). Whether sharing her personal journey with church or civic groups, Ashley desires to encourage others in their faith and offer hope through life’s hardest seasons.

She also actively participates in national and global forums dedicated to advancing OM research and patient advocacy, including the Melanoma Research Alliance Conference, the Cure OM Global Science Meeting and Capitol Hill Days. These opportunities allow Ashley to not only educate others about this rare and underfunded cancer but also to share the mission of the Eye on Grace Foundation.

Each speaking event, whether in a sanctuary, community hall, or conference room, helps shine a light on the critical needs of OM patients and fuels the foundation’s work to fund travel for life-sustaining treatment.

Recent engagements include:

  • Lakeview Baptist Church Women's Event

  • SpringHill Baptist Church Women's Event

  • Camden First Baptist Church, Camden, AL

  • Lyon's Club

  • Gideon's Year End Celebration

  • MRF/Cure OM Global Science Conference

  • Melanoma Research Alliance Annual Conference

  • Immunocore Sales Training Annual Conference

To inquire about booking Ashley for your event, contact us.

Meet the Team

Dana Hay, Eye on Grace Administrator

Dana and Ashley are lifelong friends; they grew up together at Spring Hill Baptist Church in Mobile, AL, and both attended Auburn University. Dana joined the Eye on Grace Foundation as Administrator in Spring 2025. Along with helping facilitate grant applications, travel reimbursement, promotion, and communications projects, she also contributes as a watercolor artist with Eye on Grace Art.

Our Board

Ashley McCrary, Eye on Grace Founder & President

As President and Founder of the Eye on Grace Foundation, I love sharing my story. In 2012, I was diagnosed with Ocular Melanoma and underwent enucleation of my right eye. For eight years, I lived without metastatic disease until the cancer spread to my liver, then to my lung and breast. Since then, I have traveled to Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia over 200 times, receiving expert care from world-renowned oncologist Dr. Marlana Orloff. Thankfully, my travel expenses, for both me and a caregiver, have been covered through a combination of my Aflac Cancer Plan and clinical trial sponsorships.

Over the years, I have met many Ocular Melanoma patients who were devastated by the financial burden of traveling for potentially life-saving treatments. Deeply moved by their stories, Dave and I launched the Eye on Grace Foundation in May 2024 with a mission to relieve that burden. The foundation provides travel grants to OM patients so they can focus on healing rather than financial stress. We also have a heart for research and have committed to an annual donation to hopefully improve treatment options and find a cure for this rare cancer. We are passionate about sharing the grace and provision our family has experienced throughout my 13-year battle with this aggressive cancer. I believe no one should have to fight alone and that God's grace is sufficient for every need. With immense support from both our personal and OM communities, Dave and I consider it a privilege to be a conduit of God’s provision. Through the work of the foundation, we hope every recipient will be encouraged to keep their eye, not on fear or worry, but on grace.

Dave McCrary

As Vice President of the Eye on Grace Foundation, I am passionate about the foundation’s mission to help OM patients and a caregiver travel for treatment. Since Ashley’s Ocular Melanoma diagnosis in 2012, and again when it metastasized in 2020, I have witnessed the physical, emotional, and financial toll this disease takes, not just on patients, but on entire families. I have traveled with Ashley to Philadelphia, where Dr. Orloff and the team at Thomas Jefferson Hospital have offered her the best treatment available in the country. Ashley has undergone seven different treatments for tumors in her liver, lung, and breast and due to a cancer indemnity plan through AFLAC, we have never had the burden of travel costs. Yet, through relationships with other OM patients, we have seen firsthand how travel costs could easily keep people from accessing the care they desperately need. That is why Ashley and I, through the Eye on Grace Foundation, are committed to ensuring that no patient has to choose between life-saving treatment and financial strain. Through Eye on Grace, we want every recipient to know that God’s grace is sufficient for every moment, and it’s our hope each grant provided carries not just support—but encouragement, strength, and hope for the road ahead.

Caroline McCrary

I’m honored to serve as the Treasurer and Secretary for the Eye On Grace Foundation. For me, this isn’t just a cause. It’s personal.My mom was diagnosed with ocular melanoma when I was 12, and I’ve been by her side through many parts of that journey. I’ve sat with her during treatments, traveled to appointments, and spent time with other patients and their families in waiting rooms and hospitals. I’ve seen firsthand the emotional and physical toll this disease can take.

Through those experiences, I’ve also learned just how heavy the financial burden can be. Traveling for care, often far from home, brings added stress at a time when people are already overwhelmed. I’ve witnessed how even a small amount of financial help can bring real relief. It may not change the diagnosis, but it gives patients and families the chance to breathe a little easier.

I recently graduated from Auburn University in the field of Hospitality and am the Service and Beverage Manager at 5 Star Preserve. I have learned from both my parents the importance of serving others. Being part of this foundation allows me to support my mom and extend that same care to others walking a similar path. I’m grateful to be part of something that brings hope, comfort, and practical help to people who need it most.

Meg Bryant

Ashley and I met when we were competitors in the Home Health Sales industry. We knew immediately we were kindred spirits, and even though we should not have become friends, due to us working for different companies, we regularly met for lunch and realized how we were cut from the same cloth.  From our sense of humor to our love for the Lord, Ashley and I are very close and I am proud to call her friend.

I have known her from before she was diagnosed with metastatic disease. We have been through a lot together. I have watched God supply Ashley’s needs in the last several years when her treatment began in Philadelphia. I have also watched her heart, as she began to pray how to ease the burdens of others facing this same journey. It is an honor to serve along Ashley and the incredible team at the Eye on Grace Foundation. Hebrews 6:10 says, “For God is not unjust, as to forget your work and the love you have shown for His name in ministering to the needs of the saints (God’s people) as you do.” I know God sees all who have Ocular Melanoma and this foundation is a wonderful way for Him to meet their needs.

Jill Howard

Ashley and I have known each other since childhood. She is a warrior and an encouragement to every person she meets. Her family and my family are very close… like family to each other and I find it an honor and privilege to serve on the board of the Eye on Grace Foundation. I have been married to my husband, Troy for 33 years. We have 4 children who are all married. We have 2 grandsons and 1 bonus granddaughter by marriage. They are such a joy. I was a teacher straight out of college in Birmingham, AL. but only for a short time. After having children, we made the decision that I would be a stay-at-home mom… what a gift. I wouldn’t change those years I had with my kids for anything! Troy and I love having a front row seat to see how God is able to provide for the needs of people with Ocular Melanoma through the Eye on Grace Foundation. We look forward to seeing how this will make an impact for years to come.

Katey Windsor

I have been a close friend of Ashley and her husband, Dave, since their days together in church youth group in Mobile, AL. I know how big their hearts are for others and love how Eye on Grace Foundation allows them to help others in such a tangible way. I have been married to my best friend, Russell, for 36 years. We have lived 32 of those years in Birmingham, AL where we have raised three children Davis, Zach and Kirby. I am a graduate of Auburn University, a blessed wife, a retired homeschool mom and now an empty nester who looks forward to seeing what God has planned for me next. I am honored that part of God’s plan includes getting to serve on the board of such a wonderful foundation!