Last night the Foundation Fighting Blindness honored two outstanding individuals, Jennifer Rothschild and Dr. Stephen J. Ryan, for their contributions to the vision impaired community at the 7th Annual “For the Love of Sight” Valentines Party. Emmy Award-winning journalist and bestselling authorCokie Roberts and her husband, George Washington University professor and fellow journalist Steve Roberts, served as the evening’s emcees. Also in attendance were actor Val Kilmer, Senator Robert Bennett and his wife Joyce, Senator Kit Bond and his wife Linda, Senator Arlen Specter, Congressman Russ Carnahan and his wife Debra, Congressman Danny Davis and his wife Vera, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Congressman Jerry Lewis and his wife Arlene Willis, Congressman Pete Sessions, Acting Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Charles Johnson, Former Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jim Nussle and his wife Karen, and Director of the National Eye Institute Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D.
Jennifer Rothschild, author, songwriter and mother who suffers from a rare degenerative eye disease that has rendered her blind, was thrilled to receive the Foundation’s Hope and Spirit Award and said, “It is a great honor to be recognized by such a distinguished group. The Foundation’s successful efforts towards funding new and critical research will help me and the more than 10 million Americans who struggle with vision loss eventually regain our sight. I am proud to be part of this exciting and important group, as well as tonight’s event.”
The Foundation’s Visionary Award was presented to Dr. Stephen J. Ryan, founding President of the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research and an internationally recognized expert in the field of retinal diseases and ocular trauma. “I want to thank the Foundation Fighting Blindness for the critical funding they provide to doctors and researchers. Through their continued efforts, I am hopeful that we will be capable of finding a cure for these devastating diseases in the near future,” said Dr. Ryan.
The “For the Love of Sight” Valentine’s Party benefits the Foundation Fighting Blindness, a national non-profit organization and the largest source of non-governmental funding for retinal degenerative disease research in the world. The Foundation has already paved the way for groundbreaking studies of gene therapy that has restored sight in dogs and now, in clinical trials, is restoring sight in humans. Past “For the Love of Sight” events have raised almost $2.5 million for the Foundation’s mission.
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About the Foundation Fighting Blindness
The mission of the Foundation Fighting Blindness is to drive the research that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affected by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases. Over 10 million Americans suffer vision loss from these diseases. The Foundation funds leading-edge research in promising areas such as genetics, gene therapy, retinal cell transplantation, and pharmaceutical and nutritional therapies. Since its inception in 1971, the Foundation has raised over $350 million.
Important Facts:
– Over 10 million Americans of every age and race suffer vision loss from blinding diseases. With the aging population, that number is expected to increase 50% by 2020.
– Age-related macular degeneration, characterized by a progressive loss of central vision, is the leading cause of legal blindness in adults over age 55.
– RP and Usher syndrome are inherited diseases commonly diagnosed during childhood or young adulthood.
– RP causes severe vision loss leading to legal and/or complete blindness.
– Children with Usher syndrome are born with varying degrees of deafness and later develop RP.
About the 7th Annual For the Love of Sight Valentine’s Party
– Emcees – Cokie and Steve Roberts
– Awards – Hope and Spirit Award presented to Jennifer Rothschild and the Visionary Award presented to Dr. Stephen J. Ryan
– Event Chairs – Bill and Colleen Carty, Susan Davis, Gordon and Llura Gund, Carlos and Edilia Gutierrez, Ann McLaughlin Korologos and Tom Korologos, and Ken Rietz and Ursula Landsrath
– Dinner Committee Members include: John Brady and Margaret Kirk Brady, Connie Falvo, Dave and Pam Foley, George and Molly Franklin, Ed and Sandy Gollob, Manuel and Mary Johnson, B.R. and Laura McConnon, Steve McMahon and Cynthia Alksne, Tom Nides and Virginia Moseley, Brad and Uyen O’Leary, Dick and Debby Patrick, Basil and Karen Petrou, Abe and Irene Pollin, The Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation, Terry and Brooke Ross, Fred and Jeri Thompson, and, Ed and Carole Walter.
Foundation Fighting Blindness