|
New
York, NY (May 31, 2012)—
The
Foundation Fighting Blindness, a national non-profit
organization focused on vision-saving research, opened
guests’ eyes to the challenges of the visually impaired at
its New York Fashion Ball: Dining in the Dark on Wednesday,
May 30, at the Plaza Hotel. The unique event with 225 guests
raised more than $370,000 for the Foundation’s cutting-edge
research efforts into preventions, treatments and cures for
sight-robbing retinal degenerative diseases like macular
degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome, and
related conditions.
Dining in the Dark is a distinctive sensory awareness
experience in which guests participated in an unforgettable
dining adventure, in complete darkness. For about 30
minutes, attendees enjoyed their entrée using only their
senses of smell, sound, taste, and touch, to get a glimpse
into the lives of the blind. Visually impaired servers, who
are trained specifically for the dinner to use a system of
ropes and stanchions, shared their stories and helped guests
navigate through this new culinary journey. Created in
Germany, Dining in the Dark is a one-of-a kind concept that
has been enjoyed by many people across Europe before moving
to America in 2005.
“Reactions to Dining in the Dark are truly powerful because
people often don’t realize the daily challenges of living
with low to no vision,” says Dinner Chair Evan Mittman,
of Armonk, NY. A Foundation Fighting Blindness board
member and CEO of Cipriani Accessories, Mittman didn’t let a
sight-robbing genetic disease called enhanced S-cone
syndrome stand in his way of building one of the largest
companies in the accessories industry. “We’re thrilled to
bring fashion industry leaders together to support research
in promising areas like gene therapy and stem cells that
offer hope to the more than 10 million Americans affected
with retinal diseases.”
Chairing the event with Mittman was fashion executive
Jill Granoff, who was honored with the Foundation’s
Visionary Award in 2011. Also in attendance were keynote
speaker Andy Hilfiger, photographer Patrick
McMullan, stylist Mary Alice Stephenson, LF USA
President Rick Darling, model Shaun Ross,
Accessories Council President Karen Giberson, Vice
President of PR for Dior Beauty Dianne Vavra, and
Visionary Media Founder Doug Maxwell. Guests
enjoyed entertainment by Blessing Offor, a performer from
Visionary Media, which is an organization that provides
opportunities and a voice for blind and visually impaired
musicians. Among the evening’s generous supporters was
Innovator Sponsor Lucky Zone (Shanghai) Co., LTD.
About Foundation
Fighting Blindness
The
Foundation Fighting Blindness is a national non-profit
organization driving 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. In its 40-year history, the Foundation
has raised more than $450 million as the leading
non-governmental funder of 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 using this method to
treat a variety of retinal degenerative diseases, and
proving a cure is in sight. With a network of 50 chapters,
the Foundation also provides support and resources to
affected individuals and their families in communities
across the country.
|