The mission of the Foundation Fighting Blindness is to fund research that will lead to preventions, treatments, and cures for retinal degenerative diseases including: retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, Stargardt disease, and related conditions. These diseases, which affect more than 10 million Americans and millions more throughout the world, often lead to severe vision loss or complete blindness.
The Foundation Fighting Blindness was founded as the National Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation in 1971 by Gordon and Lulie Gund, Bernard and Beverly Berman, and other dedicated leaders to find cures for retinal degenerations at a time when very little was known about those vision-robbing diseases. Blind from retinitis pigmentosa, Gund is Chairman of the Foundation Fighting Blindness and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Gund Investment Corporation. He is a former majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association) and was co-founder and part owner of the San Jose Sharks (National Hockey League). Berman died in 1996.
Through private individual contributions, corporate philanthropy and community-based fundraising activities, the Foundation has raised more than $450 million since its founding and is the largest non-governmental source of research funds for retinal degenerative diseases.
Read more about Foundation Fighting Blindness: Diseases Studied, Research and Clinical Trials, National Neurovision Research Institute, Grants, Fundraising and Public Education, VisionWalk, Dining in The Dark, Race To Cure Blindness, VISIONS Conference, Vision Seminar Series, Partners For Retinal Health
Famous quotes containing the words foundation, fighting and/or blindness:
“In a country where misery and want were the foundation of the social structure, famine was periodic, death from starvation common, disease pervasive, thievery normal, and graft and corruption taken for granted, the elimination of these conditions in Communist China is so striking that negative aspects of the new rule fade in relative importance.”
—Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989)
“Modern morality and manners suppress all natural instincts, keep people ignorant of the facts of nature and make them fighting drunk on bogey tales.”
—Aleister Crowley (1875–1947)
“They say love is blindness of heart; I say not to love is blindness.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)