A Springtime Walk

       Atlanta is the Spring is glorious, between the Bradford Pear trees, Dogwoods, Azaleas, and Camellias. It can take your breath away. (And if you're an allergy sufferer, the extremely high pollen counts- that would be pine tree pollen- might literally take your breath away without a surgical mask!)

     In spite of the pollen, and surrounded by the flora and wonderful weather this weekend, I will be taking a special  Springtime walk.

     Tomorrow is the annual Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB)  5K VisionWalk. So far, the Atlanta Chapter has raised $104,000 for research. Go Atlanta!!  That beats last year's total of $100,000 and money can "bloom" until the end of June.  
        I'm the co-captain of the Atlanta S.P.A.R Team. We chose the name because we're sparring (fighting) to find a treatment/cure for our retinal conditions and because the letters stand for the 3 guidelines our chapter represents: Support, Public Awareness, and Research. I tried the letters in different arrangements but somehow RAPS, SRAP, ASPR, RASP, PRAS, and PARS didn't make sense. Thus, we became the SPAR Team Good thing our guidelines/principles didn't spell out DORK or SPAZ or SH*T!!! 
      If you're looking to take a walk on Sunday March 25th, in Atlanta, join us at noonish on the meadow at Piedmont Park. You can't miss us. We'll be 700+ people, some with white canes, some with guide dogs, and many fully sighted folks all walking in support of finding a way to prevent blindness. Our slogan: A Cure Is In Sight!

Visualeyes 12

This has been a busy week in preparation for tomorrow's meeting. It is the kickoff for The Foundation Fighting Blindness Atlanta Chapter annual fundraiser called VisionWalk. This is the 4th year for this walk and it's my 3rd year participating.This year is different from the others for several reasons:

1. I am a co-captain of the Support Group Team, one of the largest teams. In the past, I have been a team of one.
2. I am a chapter Board  Member now (yeah, fancy title that comes with business cards but it really just means I've become active in the group so they add me to the Board. Oh, and you have to print out your own business cards!)
3. This year, my vision has gotten worse so I'm aware of the need for fundraising more than before.

The other co-captain, Jim, and I decided to add a motto to our team T-shirts. Since the organization is the Foundation Fighting Blindness, I kind of went with that fighting theme. The Support Group tries to promote public awareness of retinal degenerative conditions as well as supporting research and helping people deal with their challenges. I put those together and came up with SPAR. It stands for Support, Public Awareness, Research. Our motto is: Come SPAR with us in the fight against blindness.
Okay, so it's a little corny but it worked better using SPAR than RAPS or RASP or ASP-R or RSPA. Trying writing a motto with those words!

I have never really felt comfortable doing fundraising and asking people for money. But now that I don't drive, I equate it to asking people for rides places. I can't always get to where I want to by myself, so I have to ask for help. The worst thing someone can  say is "sorry, I can't give you a ride today" and I'm not any worse off. I have to find a bus or take a taxi. Sometimes, though someone says SURE or GLAD TO HELP and if I hadn't asked them, it wouldn't have happened.

It's the same in asking for donations for the VisionWalk. Sure, some people I ask will say no or I can't right now, but some will say YES. And if I don't ask, it doesn't happen. That means research doesn't happen, that means treatments and cures aren't found, and mostly, that means more of us will go on losing sight and becoming blind. And I'm not giving up my sight without a fight.

So friends and followers, and friends of followers, I'm asking all of you if you'd be willing to help me out and thousands of other people, including children. If you'd like to make a donation- and any amount is gratefully accepted- you can do so online at: www.fightblindness.org/goto/gailhandler
If you'd rather you can send a check to: Foundation Fighting Blindness
                                                            4600 Marriot Dr, Suite 340
                                                            Raleigh, NC27612
Just put my name in the memo line of the check so our team gets the credit towards our goal.
Thanks in advance to those who can contribute. And for those who can't, don't worry about it. It was worth asking. :-)