Deserving Foundation researchers, board directors, trustees, members, VisionWalks and chapters were recognized at VISIONS 2012 in Minneapolis.

Our June 23 VisionWalk was FINALLY under 90 degrees, but that didn't cool anyone's enthusiasm for one of the best VisionWalks we have had, with more than 360 participants. We hope you all enjoyed beautiful Kaufmann Gardens and Theis Park to celebrate our fundraising efforts in support of the Foundation and the critical research it funds. Our teams and families did another amazing job of fundraising, crossing the $45,000 mark with the help of Walmart Vision Centers.

We had an AMAZING day at our 4th Annual VisionWalk on May 20, including our fourth year in a row with perfect weather! Special thanks to each and every one of you for helping us surpass our goal of $90,000! We couldn't have done it without you!

We had a wonderful day on Saturday, June 9^th at the Ft. Wayne VisionWalk with a huge crowd – we had over 430 participants walking with us! Thanks to everyone who came out and made the day so much fun. Together we have raised more than $57,000 to support critical sight-saving research! A huge thank you to all of our volunteers and supporters who made VisionWalk such a success. Special thanks to VisionWalk Chairs Anne Palmer & Rachel Slone, Medical Chairs Eugene J. McGarvey, III, OD & Gohar A. Salam, MD, Family Chair Nancy Ake, Youth Chair Megan Smith, Committee Member Ed Slone, Chapter President Rick Dahlstrom, and all of our team captains and volunteers.

The First Annual Dining in the Dark in Columbus, Ohio was an outstanding success!   There were well over 100 people that attending this inaugural event at Brazenhead Irish Pub in downtown Dublin, which is a nearby suburb of Columbus Ohio.    This event was co-chaired by Mike Ueber and Seth Porter, however, the Green Family brought a large number people to the “more spirited” second seating!

Taking place on May 30^th, 2012, the 2^nd Annual Fashion Ball: Dining in the Dark was a truly magical evening.  The event raised over $380,000 for the Foundation Fighting Blindness and featured speeches from Event Chair and Board Director, Evan Mittman, Event Chair, Jill Granoff and keynote speaker, Andy Hilfiger.  Two hundred and thirty guests were also treated to an awe inspiring performance from visually impaired musician, Blessing Offor.  The evening was capped off by the Foundation’s signature dining in the dark experience, where thirty visually impaired waiters served the audience in pitch back darkness.  The event, which took place at the Plaza Hotel in NYC raised awareness and much needed research dollars for retinal diseases.

Held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the annual conference was chronicled on the Foundation’s blog and on its Facebook and Twitter pages.

Great job on a fabulous VisionWalk! We had sunny skies, enthusiastic walkers, and plenty of VisionWalk spirit! With more than 1200 people in attendance this was our largest Chicago VisionWalk raising over $316,000 for research!!

The Inaugural Hampton Roads VisionWalk was a tremendous success! Over $70,000 was raised for sight saving research! Thanks to each and every one of our over 500 VisionWalkers!

Over 200 guests joined the St. Louis Chapter of Foundation Fighting Blindness as they hosted the their 3rd Annual Dining in the Dark Visionary Awards Diner on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac. The dinner raised an astounding $480,000 for retinal disease research.