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SUPERMARKET INDUSTRY LEADERS AND PARENTS OF
VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN UNITE TO FIGHT BLINDNESS AT
‘A VISION FOR THE FUTURE’
Jan. 16
Event Will Honor Allegiance Retail Services President & COO
Michael Stolarz
The Foundation
Fighting Blindness, a national nonprofit that drives
sight-saving research, will host its 3rd Annual
‘Una Visión Para El Futuro’
(A Vision for the Future) on Thursday, Jan. 16, at Terrace
on the Park in Flushing Meadows Park. The event will honor
the accomplishments and community involvement of Allegiance
Retail Services President and Chief Operating Officer
Michael Stolarz, as supermarket industry leaders come
together to raise critical awareness and research funds for
vision-robbing retinal degenerative diseases like macular
degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
Chairing the event for the third year is
Jason Ferreira, of New Hyde Park, NY, a Foundation Fighting
Blindness board member and Foodtown vice president and
general manager who knows the impact of vision loss. His 3-year-old
son JJ has a
rare genetic disease called Leber
congenital amaurosis (LCA),
which is characterized by severe loss of vision at birth.
Determined to help advance research toward treatments and a
cure, Jason, a first generation Dominican American, and his
wife Jennifer have been passionate Foundation advocates
since JJ’s diagnosis in 2010, raising hundreds of thousands
for innovative work that could save their son’s sight.
“We’re thrilled to recognize the support and
leadership of Michael Stolarz,” says Ferreira. “Progress in
gene therapy and stem cell-based clinical trials gives us
hope for a brighter future for JJ and the millions of other
families in America affected by blinding retinal diseases.
Leaders coming together for this important cause is a true
testament to the giving spirit of our industry.”
Visionary Award Honoree Michael Stolarz, of
New Jersey, has served as President and COO of Allegiance
Retail Services since 2011. With more than 40 years of
experience in the supermarket industry, Stolarz has held
senior executive positions at Twin
County Grocers, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company and
most recently, Grocery Haulers, Inc. In addition to
supporting A Vision for the Future for the last two years,
Mr. Stolarz’s community involvement includes supporting
organizations such as the Deborah Heart and Lung Center, the
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and St. Joseph’s Food Academy
Foundation. He has also been honored with the Cystic
Fibrosis Breath of Life Award and was named Industry Leader
Man of the Year by the New Jersey Food Council.
Over the last two years, A Vision for the
Future has raised nearly $700,000 toward the Foundation’s
sight-saving research, and leaders hope to close in on the
$1 million mark this year. The
evening’s Visionary Sponsors include Acosta
Grocery; Advantage; Bozzuto's Inc.; C&S Produce; CBA
Industries, Inc.; Earthbound Farms; Jennifer & Jason
Ferreira; Florida's Natural; JOH; Joshen Paper & Packaging;
Kraft Foods; Pepsico; Porky Products; and Procacci Brothers.
What: A
Vision for the Future, Benefiting the Foundation
Fighting Blindness
Where: Terrace
on the Park
52-11 111th St.
Flushing
Meadows Park, NY 11368
When: Thursday, Jan. 16,
2014
6:30 p.m.
Cocktails
7:30 p.m.
Dinner & Program
Individual tickets are available for $500 and
sponsorship packages begin at $1,000. For ticket and
sponsorship information, contact Events Manager Ro-Ann
Rabanillo at
RRabanillo@FightBlindness.org
or (646)
632-7514. To RSVP as a member of the media or to coordinate
an interview with an event spokesperson, contact Jessica
Blasco at 410-423-0619 or JBlasco@FightBlindnes.org
About
Foundation Fighting Blindness
The Foundation
Fighting Blindness is
a national non-profit organization driving the research that
will lead to preventions, treatments and cures for retinitis
pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome and the
entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases that affect
more than 10 million Americans. Since 1971, the Foundation
has raised nearly $550 million as the leading
non-governmental funder of inherited retinal research.
Breakthrough Foundation-funded studies using gene therapy
have restored significant vision in children and young
adults who were previously blind, paving the way for
additional clinical trials to treat a variety of retinal
degenerative diseases. With a coveted four-star rating from
Charity Navigator, the Foundation also has nearly 50
chapters that provide support, information and resources to
affected individuals and their families in communities
across the country. |