• Home
• Music
• Entertainment
• Design
• Books
• Technology
• Help/Environment
• Wellness
• Life Banter

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 author Cokie Roberts and her husband, George Washington University professor and fellow journalist Steve Roberts, served as the evening's emcees.

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.

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.

Labels: blindness, eyesight