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 Thanks to all who came to the Hoops for Sight Fundraiser!
Hoops for Sight is a fun filled day sponsored by the Shiloh Lions Club of Shiloh, Pennsylvania. Hoops was started to help fund research for degenerative retinal diseases when the Lions received information on a local 11-year old girl who was facing the possibility of going blind from Retinitis Pigmentosa. The Fifth Annual Hoops for Sight was held on April 13th. In its first four years the event earned $20,000 for the Foundation Fighting Blindness to fund research. All funds earned at the Hoops event go directly to the FFB sponsored VisionWalk. This year to date they have raised over $4,800 including the GE Lighting Challenge. Funds will continue to come in until the VisionWalk on June 1st.
Hoops for Sight is a basketball foul shooting contest for people of all ages. They collect pledges for the amount of successful foul shots and compete for prizes. Children from kindergarten thru second grade shoot at an 8' basket and all others shoot from a 10' basket. Participants have five minutes to make as many free throw shots as they can. Along with the foul shooting contest, there is a raffle and The Shiloh Lionesses sponsor a bake sale and sell hot dogs for additional funds for the cause.
Spring Speaker Seminar
 Our Spring Speaker series was held on May 19th at the Cockeysville Library. The Speakers were Gretchen Fisher-Orr, Instructor/Trainer for Fidelco Guide Dogs, Laura Judy, Fidelco guide dog owner and Michael Rowley of Enhanced Vision.
Fidelco is a non-profit that breeds and trains German Sheppard Dogs for use as Seeing Eye dogs. Gretchen was accompanied by Eden, one of Fidelco’s “pups-in-training”. Gretchen explained their process for training dogs and their unique approach to placing them. Fidelco pioneered “In Community Placement” in which a trainer goes to the person who will receive the dog. The dog and their recipient are trained in the environment in which they live. Then Laura Judy, (Bonnie's daughter) accompanied by her guide dog, Scout, spoke about going through the training process to be an owner of a guide dog. Learn more about Fidelco at www.fildelco.org.
 Michael Rowley of Enhanced Vision spoke about technology aids to help visually impaired individuals. He focused on the DaVinci, a high performance desktop video magnifier with High Definition screen, text to speech and a 3 in 1 adjustable camera. This product can be used for a variety of tasks such as reading, writing, needlework, painting, even personal care tasks such as applying make-up and shaving. The camera allows you to see near, far and mirror images. Michael also spoke about other products available, such as hand held and portable models, perfect for students.
6th Annual Baltimore VisionWalk Kick Off
On April 14th, FFB and the Baltimore VisionWalk Committee hosted the VisionWalk Kick Off Luncheon. This is an event for returning teams to reunite and rejuvenate and affords the new teams the opportunity to become better acquainted with the other Walk teams.
Our FFB special events team, Heather Medina and Somer Read, greeted everyone and had a double feature video presentation! One video was a compilation of VisionWalks across the country showing the hard work, commitment and fun of the event. The other video featured the Day family, Christine and Doug with their two children, Derek and Meredith. Derek and Meredith have LCA. The video is a candid and heartwarming piece about coping as a family raising children with a sight stealing disorder. Then quick welcome speeches by Heather, VisionWalk Chair, Mindy Caplan, and an inspirational hello from Chris, Derek, and Meredith Day. In addition to our teams we had some special guests, Dr. Don Zack, Baltimore Chapter and VisionWalk Medical Chair accompanied by his lovely wife, Ellen and Mrs. Harriet Finklestein, who has involved with FFB since the early 70.s
Heather had a surprise announcement, an exciting development regarding GE Lighting! She introduced Ms. Mo Boone, GE Lighting’s Baltimore Representative, who explained that GE will be donating to five VisionWalks across the country, for a total of $25,000! Baltimore VisionWalk has been selected to be one of the locations to receive $500 matches to the ten teams who raise $500 or more between April 29th and May 6th. The VisionWalk that raises the most in this challenge period will also choose a non-profit to receive a lighting upgrade.
In addition to all this, we played a Jeopardy game with categories related to VisionWalk. The winner of the game was Ms Tina Gross Jones, who received a gift certificate to Rusty Scupper! There were also promotional materials and marketing packets to utilize and entice others to sponsor, donate, support and establish a team. All in all it was three hours packed with information, entertainment, and camaraderie. The lunch was at Vito's Cafe in Cockeysville.
Bowling Social
 The Chapter’s February 9th Bowling Social at the AMF Lanes in Towson was a hit with all who attended. Both duckpin and tenpin lanes were in use by the bowlers. Board member Scott Soldan, who has RP, was heard to say “I forgot how much fun bowling is.” (He also won the game!) The pizzas were a win with everyone, especially the teens in attendance. Chapter members, family and friends enjoyed the opportunity to kick back, have fun and relax!
Fundraiser all wrapped up
On December 16th and 17th, we participated in the Barnes and Noble Holiday Gift Wrapping Fundraiser. B&N provides non-profit organizations an opportunity to raise funds in their stores during the holiday season by wrapping packages donations. The store provides all the materials to gift wrapping presents and we provide the man power! All of the donations collected benefited the Baltimore VisionWalk. We are thankful for the support of the Baltimore County Board of Education and their students. With the students help, we were able to raise $191.00!
Chico’s Fundraiser
A fundraiser was held at the Chico’s in Pikesville on Saturday, November 17th. Ten percent of the sales from this shopping event will go to VisionWalk. From this two hour private shopping event we raised over $300.00!
Winter Speaker Series
The Baltimore Chapter hosted an informative speaker symposium on Sunday, November 18th at the Arbutus Library. First to speak was Ms. Heather Medina, FFB Special Events Manager, about the VisionWalk. Dr. Janet Sunness from GBMC’s Hoover Low Vision Clinic spoke about a study she conducted on retraining your brain to better utilize your vision. Finally, Erin Piesach, a Registered Dietician with Shop Rite of Timonium gave a presentation on “Eat Right for Good Sight”. Pictures to follow at a later date.
Wine & Nosh Social
The Baltimore Chapter had their kickoff event for the fiscal year 2012 - 2013 on Thursday, September 27. There was a selection of wine and noshes to enjoy while we sat around and chatted. It was a wonderful evening for new members to get acquainted and for returning members to become re-connected. They shared stories, histories, and experiences.
2012 Baltimore VisionWalk
On June 2, 2012, over 300 VisionWalkers came out in support of the 5th Annual Baltimore VisionWalk! With over $98,000, the Baltimore VisionWalk raised an all-time high!
Special thanks to our VisionWalk Leaders!
- Walk Chair: Mindy Caplan
- Youth Chair: Bjorn Brooks
- Medical Chair: Donald J. Zack, M.D., Ph.D., Wilmer Eye Institute
- Community Outreach Chair: Tina Gross-Jones
- Baltimore County Community Leaders: Sue & Scott Soldan
- Carroll County Community Leaders: Dot & Steve Dutterer
- Howard County Community Leader: Clark Gaughan
- Southern Maryland Community Leader: Rebecca Quade
- Honorary Chair: The Honorable Dr. Dan Morhaim, Maryland House of Delegates
- Honorary Chair: The Honorable Bobby Zirkin, Maryland State Senate
 Car Wash Fundraiser
Hildebrandt Learning Centers at Lancaster Laboratories in Leola, PA, held a Car Wash/Bake Sale to raise funds for Foundation Fighting Blindness on Saturday, August 18, 2012.
The Learning Center wanted to help raise funds for research and increase awareness of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a cause which hits home for the Center. Laura Judy, an employee of Lancaster Labs, has spent most of her life dealing with her RP, inherited from her father’s family. She now uses a white cane and recently got a guide dog to increase her mobility because of her increasing loss of peripheral vision. Laura’s two children, Ashton and Emma, attend Hildebrandt. Several months ago Ashton, 4 ½, was diagnosed with the disease.
Teachers at the Center manned the car wash, along with a little help from a few of the children. Parents and teachers donated to the bake sale. $290 was raised for FFB thanks to their hard work!
Baltimore Visionary Awards Dinner
Held on June 14, 2012, the Baltimore Visionary Awards Dinner honored Governor Bob Ehrlich and Matt Stover at the Baltimore Hilton. This event was the first full scale Dining in the Dark that has been hosted in Baltimore since 2008, and it was a huge success. This event would not have been possible without the support of Jay and Lu Ann Blackman, the Dinner Co-Chairs. As chief ambassadors, Jay and Lu Ann want to make sure that as many people as possible know about about FFB, and about the hope that we all have for a future with sight.
Stay tuned for information about the 6th Annual Baltimore VisionWalk in 2013!
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