A Great Friend in the Long Run
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When Dan Duffy was on vacation at the beach and felt some irritation underneath his contact lens, he thought he just had a little sand in his eye. The last thing he imagined was that he had a blinding eye disease. But in the next six weeks, Dan lost central vision in one eye, and a few weeks later, the central vision faded in his other eye. After several visits to ophthalmologists and specialists, he was diagnosed with a rare, inherited condition called Leber hereditary optic neuropathy — a condition for which there is no treatment or cure.
A 39-year-old husband, father of four young girls, and private equity investor, Dan’s life was very quickly turned upside down. His business partner and close friend, Stuart Frantz, felt compelled to do something as he watched Dan’s life very suddenly and dramatically change. Stuart happened to know Haynes Lea, vice president and treasurer of FFB’s board of directors, and had previously attended Hayne’s FFB fundraisers, so he was acquainted with the Foundation’s mission to raise money for sight-saving research. A long-time runner, Stuart had always wanted to run a marathon, but never found the time to commit to the rigorous training that’s essential to completing the 26.2-mile race. Dan’s circumstances inspired Stuart to run the ING Georgia Marathon on March 29, 2009 as a way to raise money for the Foundation’s fundraising program called Race to Cure Blindness. Stuart said, “I wanted to do everything within my power to be a great friend to Dan, and decided to combine something I enjoy — running — with raising money. My mother also has lost some vision to age-related macular degeneration, so raising money to fight blindness seemed like the ideal thing to do. ” Race to Cure Blindness is a program where participants utilize a marathon, triathlon, bike race, or other racing event as a platform to raise vital funds that will support the Foundation’s urgent mission to drive the research that will provide preventions, treatments, and cures for the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases.
Stuart reached out to friends and business associates, and recruited his wife, Ella, sister, Kim Gauss, and brother, Brett, to fundraise, as well. Dan also sent out e-mails letting people know about his sudden and catastrophic vision loss, and what Stuart was doing to help. FFB’s Race to Cure Blindness Web site was the cornerstone for the campaign, providing tools to communicate with potential donors and tell Dan’s story. Ultimately, Stuart and his team raised more than $30,000. To join Stuart and the others who are racing to cure blindness, visit www.RacetoCureBlindness.org. |
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Stuart Frantz
