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Dallas, TX (February 29, 2012) — The Foundation Fighting Blindness, a national nonprofit focused on sight-saving retinal research, will open guests’ eyes to the challenges of the visually impaired community at its Dallas Dining in the Dark on Wednesday, April 12, at the Hilton Anatole. To recognize their admirable accomplishments, the Foundation will present its Visionary Award to businesswoman and philanthropist Margaret Crow, and Retina Foundation of the Southwest Research Director David Birch, Ph.D. The event will benefit the Foundation’s cutting-edge research efforts into preventions, treatments and cures for vision-robbing retinal degenerative diseases like macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome, and related conditions.
Dining in the Dark is a distinctive sensory awareness experience in which guests participate in an unforgettable dining adventure, in complete darkness. For about 30 minutes, attendees enjoy their entrée using only their senses of smell, sound, taste, and touch, to get a glimpse into the lives of the blind. Visually impaired servers, who are trained specifically for the dinner to use a system of ropes and stanchions, will share their stories and help guests navigate through this new culinary journey. Created in Germany, Dining in the Dark is a one-of-a kind concept that has been enjoyed by many people across Europe before moving to America in 2005.
“Reactions to Dining in the Dark are truly powerful because people often don’t realize the daily challenges of living with low vision,” said Foundation Fighting Blindness CEO Bill Schmidt. “We’re thrilled to recognize the contributions of two Dallas visionaries as we come together to support promising research that offers hope to the more than 10 million Americans at risk for losing sight to retinal disease.”
Co-chairing the Dallas Dining in the Dark Visionary Awards Dinner are Foundation Fighting Blindness National Trustee and past honoree Ebby Halliday, and The Honorable Pete Sessions. A 5th generation Dallasite, Honoree Margaret Crow is a respected philanthropist and businesswoman who built an enterprise of stores from a gift shop in the Anatole Hotel, and opened the Crow Collection of Asian Art in 1998. She has served on the Executive Committee of the Chancellor’s Council at the University of Texas, the Advisory Council for the Texas Commission of the Arts and Humanities, and the Governor’s Mansion committee. Over the past 30 years, Honoree Dr. David Birch has focused his career on advancing research for retinitis pigmentosa and other blinding diseases, and authored over 250 peer-reviewed publications. A member of the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board, Dr. Birch has pioneered novel techniques for assessing retinal function and currently oversees research at the Retina Foundation of the Southwest, including a clinical trial to evaluate valproic acid’s effectiveness in slowing vision loss for people with autosomal dominant forms of retinitis pigmentosa.
What:
Dallas Dining in the Dark, Benefiting the Foundation Fighting Blindness
Where:
The Hilton Anatole
2201 Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, Texas 75207
When:
Thursday, April 12, 2012
6 p.m. Reception
7-9:30 p.m. Dinner & Awards
Individual tickets are available for $500 each and sponsorship packages begin at $5,000. For ticket and sponsorship information, contact Events Director Jennifer Hecker at
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or (310) 450-2910. To request media credentials or coordinate an interview with an event spokesperson, contact Allie Gebhardt at 410-423-0643 or
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