Foundation Fighting Blindness Launches #ShareYourVision Campaign for October Blindness Awareness Month

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Sep 22, 2022, 07:30 ET

Initiatives to increase engagement and awareness around blinding retinal diseases.

COLUMBIA, Md., Sept. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Foundation Fighting Blindness, the world's leading organization committed to finding treatments and cures for blinding retinal diseases, launches a new social media campaign, #ShareYourVision. The new campaign coincides with October's Blindness Awareness Month.

The #ShareYourVision campaign invites individuals affected by blinding diseases to share their vision-loss journey through written word, audio, or video. Participants can choose whether to share their story with a small select group of people they know or to share their story more broadly. Sign up at FightingBlindness.org/ShareYourVision to learn more about the #ShareYourVision campaign, receive updates, show support, and help raise awareness to end blinding retinal diseases forever.

The Foundation will also have additional social media efforts occurring throughout Blindness Awareness Month to highlight World Sight Day, White Cane Day, and Music to Our Eyes.

World Sight Day falls on Thursday, October 13, to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairments.

White Cane Day is a national observance in the United States, celebrated on October 15 of each year since 1964. The date is set aside to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired and the important symbol of blindness and tool of independence, the white cane.

To celebrate White Cane Day, the Foundation is partnering with WhiteStickFest.org — a virtual concert featuring musical talents (blind, low vision, and sighted supporters) from all around the globe to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or low vision excelling in a sighted world. All donations made during the event will benefit the Foundation Fighting Blindness.

Culminating the end of October's Blindness Awareness Month will be the next installment of the Foundation's livestream music series Music to Our Eyes. This Facebook series will feature award-winning singer-songwriter Mark Erelli on Thursday, October 27, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET. This exclusive set for the Foundation will be performed from Club Passim in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

A veteran singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and touring artist from Massachusetts, Mark has been a professional musician for two decades and has released 13 solo albums to date. His next album, Lay Your Darkness Down, will come out in early 2023 and was largely written in the time surrounding his diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa.

Mark's Music to Our Eyes performance will feature some of his favorites, including The River Always Wins, For A Song, and songs You're Gonna Wanna Remember This and Sense of Wonder from his upcoming album, Lay Your Darkness Down. Jason Menzo, chief executive officer at the Foundation Fighting Blindness, sits down with Mark to discuss his recent diagnosis with vision loss and how it has impacted his songwriting.

"We're excited for an October full of initiatives celebrating Blindness Awareness Month," says Jason Menzo, chief executive officer. "This month, particularly our Share Your Vision campaign, is all about engaging our community to share their stories with vision loss. We hope that this will help educate and inspire others so we can continue to find treatments and cures for blinding diseases."

To stay up-to-date on all the October Blindness Awareness Month celebrations, visit: www.Facebook.com/FoundationFightingBlindness

About the Foundation Fighting Blindness

Established in 1971, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is the world's leading private funding source for retinal degenerative disease research. The Foundation has raised more than $856 million toward its mission of accelerating research for preventing, treating, and curing blindness caused by the entire spectrum of blinding retinal diseases including: retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, and Usher syndrome. Visit FightingBlindness.org for more information.

Media Contact:
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SOURCE Foundation Fighting Blindness