Annual Houston 5K VisionWalk aims to raise $120,000 for blindness research

In an effort to fund cutting-edge research targeting vision-robbing retinal diseases affecting more than 10 million Americans, the Foundation Fighting Blindness will host its 7th Annual Houston VisionWalk on Saturday, October 4, at Discovery Green Park.

The 5K walkathon aims to raise $120,000 for research that will lead to preventions, treatments and cures for diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), age-related macular degeneration, Usher syndrome and Stargardt disease.

These sight-stealing diseases affect people of all races and ethnicities, young and old.

"Sight is something you can learn to live without, but, of course, we don't want Brendan to have to miss out on anything," VisionWalk Team Captain Anne Doventry says of her son. "That is why our family decided to participate in Visionwalk. While we know Brendan is going to have an amazing future with or without sight, we want him to have every chance to fulfill his dreams."

Doventry is hopeful because the Foundation Fighting Blindness funds many avenues of promising research, including a breakthrough gene therapy which has restored vision in children and young adults in clinical trials. "VisionWalk is an opportunity to take action in support of advancing research and move one step closer to a cure," she says.

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