Race to Cure Blindness, FFB’s New Web-Based Program Makes Team Fundraising a Cinch

For Michael Stone, the 2006 Ironman Triathlon Championship was just the beginning. His completion of the grueling event was not only an important personal accomplishment and an effective fundraiser for FFB, it was the inspiration for establishing a nationwide fundraising program and Web site for athletes called Race to Cure Blindness.

"Race to Cure Blindness is an easy way to get runners, bikers, swimmers and other athletes to raise money for research. So many people who compete are inspired to get behind our cause," says Michael, who is affected by cone-rod dystrophy.

The Race to Cure Blindness Web site, www.FightBlindness.org/RacetoCureBlindness, provides all the online tools necessary for people to set up teams and solicit online contributions. "We've made it incredibly easy for people to get involved in fundraising," says Anastasia Staten, Director of Membership at the Foundation. "They can set up everything quickly, safely, and securely. All of our donors have been responding very well to online fundraising."

Rhonda Timko and her family used the Race to Cure Blindness site to organize a nationwide fundraising team for the 2007 Outer Banks Marathon in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Her nine-year-old son, Max, has a retinal degenerative disease called choroideremia, and the progressive condition is already causing him problems with vision at night.

The whole Timko family participated in the event and trained five months to prepare for it. She and her husband, Jerry, ran the full marathon, and their kids did the half-marathon as a relay team - five-year-old Virginia ran the first three miles, seven-year-old Olivia did the next four miles, and Max ran the final six.

Rhonda pulled together 35 people from all over the country and Canada, many of whom are affected by choroideremia, to come to the event and raise money for research. Together, they raised $19,000 for the Foundation.

Rhonda was particularly touched by the generous support from people she'd never met. "I sent a fundraising e-mail to four or five of my colleagues, and they passed it along to 40 of their friends. I was getting $100 donations from people I didn't even know, and the disease will probably never even touch them. It was a great lesson for Max - to see that he is blessed despite having this tough retinal disease."

Are you a marathon runner or competitive racer? You can use your racing effort to raise money for the Foundation Fighting Blindness through our Race to Cure Blindness program! To learn more visit www.RaceToCureBlindness.org.