Baltimore Chapter Welcome Letter

Welcome to the Baltimore Chapter,

As President of the Baltimore Chapter, I would like to invite you to join us for programs that will offer support, guidance, and education.  My goal is to help create productive and rewarding experiences to anyone that is interested in the Baltimore Chapter.  There will be opportunities to meet other individuals affected with retinal disorders.  We also invite family members and friends to learn more about assisting those with an eye disorder.  Together, we will learn about services , technology, and the ongoing research. We will work to raise the much needed funds to support the research. What could be a better way to meet, share and make a difference?

I know about making a difference... I was diagnosed in 1971 with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). My parents (the late Ben Berman and Beverly Berman) were told to take me home and teach me Braille. RP is a rare disease and there is no research anywhere.  This response was unacceptable and my parents were on a mission to find somebody...somewhere to help. Lo and behold, they located Dr. Eliot Berson in Boston. After several meetings, they agreed a multi-disciplined lab was needed to begin research. So my parents came back to Baltimore and with a grassroots group established the National RP Foundation, now known as Foundation Fighting Blindness. The mission they set forth was to fund research to find the cause, treatment, and prevention for these sight stealing disorders and go out of business.

In the forty years since its inception, the Foundation has not changed its mission. We have raised over 450 million dollars and are funding over 70 facilities around the globe. The research has made unbelievable strides with clinical trials going on and more scheduled to begin!

But with all these tremendous strides we are not there yet. Come and help be a part of this warm, compassionate, and energetic chapter! You too can make a difference. Need I say more?

Warmest regards,

Mindy Berman Caplan
Baltimore Chapter President