Dickson Court became the center of attention Sunday during the second annual Los Angeles VisionWalk, which involved 450 participants who raised $80,000 for eye disease research.
The event, sponsored by the Foundation Fighting Blindness and UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute, raises money to fund research to find cures for blindness and other degenerative eye diseases.
Prior to the walk, participants wearing brightly colored T-shirts congregated near a large yellow and blue balloon arch that marked the start of the race. Various corporate sponsors, such as K-Earth 101 and Farmers Insurance, pitched their tents alongside numerous booths that promoted services for the blind.
Several families were at the event, and young children amused themselves by jumping in a bounce house, getting their faces painted or eating cotton candy, while their parents talked with friends and family.
The sponsoring nonprofit organization, the Foundation Fighting Blindness, is committed to funding research to prevent, treat and cure retinal degenerative eye diseases.
“Our charity is one of the top 10 in the U.S.,” said Grace Leone, spokeswoman for the Foundation Fighting Blindness and a UCLA alumna. “All of our money goes directly to the institute.”
This event is held nationwide and is the signature fundraising event of the charity.
Since it began in 2006, VisionWalk has raised $5 million and hosts walks in other parts of California, such as Orange County, San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco.
However, for parents like Margaret Rupert of Covina, the walk goes far beyond financial figures and statistics. Rupert said VisionWalk represents hope for the future of children with these diseases.
Rupert created “Lauren’s Vision Team” in support of her daughter, who was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa four years ago at age 16. Retinitis pigmentosa is a rare inherited retinal disease that results in a loss of peripheral vision and can lead to blindness.
“My daughter has not accepted the fact that she has it, and I thought that if I brought family and friends here, she’d accept it,” Rupert said.
The team set up camp underneath the shade of two trees near North Campus and was immediately distinguishable by its bright yellow T-shirts bearing a picture of Lauren.
In addition to the shirts, Lauren’s Vision Team showed their support of her fight through large yellow posters that were taped to nearby trees and carried by members of the 20-person group.
Through the support of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute aims to conduct research to find cures for these diseases, including the one that affects Rupert’s daughter.
VisionWalk “is very inspirational because we are beginning to discover … cures for retinal diseases that were previously uncurable,” said Gloria Jurisic, market and contracting director of the Jules Stein Eye Institute.
As a lead sponsor of VisionWalk, the institute has done research on a number of inherited retinal diseases and received grants for continued study of vision loss treatment and prevention.
As the start of the walk drew near, both children in strollers and elderly participants in wheelchairs joined the crowd waiting at the starting line.
Despite the event’s emphasis on eye diseases, participants were able to have fun as they socialized and enjoyed this leisurely day in the sun.
“I hope that they get a feeling of hope for family and friends that are affected,” Leone said. “I hope they continue their determination to keep raising research funds.”