RP International Participates in the Combined Federal Campaign in Order to Fight Blindness.

Contact : Mary Ellen Sanders (800) FIGHT-RP
Email : Info@VisionAwards.org

Contributions from payroll deductions by servicemen and women and other federal employees help fight the world’s leading disability: blindness. Helen Harris, President of RP International is hoping a that more federal employees will support her quest for vision through the federal employee giving campaign scheduled to begin later Summer early fall 2002.

More than 26 million new patients with blinding macular degeneration and RP will bring the totals of disabling blindness to a staggering number of causing great loss to America and the world. Children unaware of what they see, do not complain when incurring one fall after another, bumping into yet another door frame or tripping again and again over the family pet. Night blindness does not bring a reaction from an unaware potential glaucoma or RP patient as these two insidious diseases begin to ravage the retina and optic nerve at early age. Retinitis pigmentosa steals more hours of children’s eyesight than any other form of eye disease. Going unchecked, a child with loss of peripheral vision can read well into his or her 20’s without needing glasses. Yet peripheral vision is being lost by the day and night blindness is becoming darker and darker, until finally there is no ability to go outside of a lit room unaided.

A new campaign making the symptoms available to teachers, parents and families would identify the patient at an early for early diagnosis. In the case of retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration, simply wearing UV coated lenses would slow down the progress of the disease tremendously. The Amsler Grid would alert by simply looking at grid daily. Macular degeneration, some forms are curable if caught and treated with three to five days. Yet the public is completely unaware of what to look for and how to help.

The combined Federal Campaign slogan for retinitis pigmentosa members this year is “No Child Left Behind, No Reason To Be Blind.”

With the facts and figures on possible cures available right now, RPI encourages each and every member of the community, particularly the Federal employees to consider their own eyesight. Imagine their own situation career if blindness were to suddenly occur. There would be no need for reading, creating visuals for media television, films, books, museums, and many sunsets would come and go, simply unseen. Yet the new computer chip implant has reversed blindness in two people and holds great hope for many others. Donations are needed to create more awareness on the blindness right here in America and the blindness that is treatable in India with six million patients blind from cataracts. Once removed, sight would be restored. In Africa, river blindness is curable with simple vitamin A. Yet is undeliverable to the culture there, so millions go blind without real need to live a lifetime of darkness.

If you are a member of the CFC – Combined Federal Campaign, when making your CFC Donation through your Federal workplace, remember to donate to:

R P - Retinitis Pigmentosa International Society for Degenerative Eye Disease and Related Disorders.

For other information on gifts can be made, contact RP International at rpinternational.org or write: RP International, P.O. Box 900, Woodland Hills, California 91365 or call 1-800-FIGHT-RP. Donations can be restricted for a particular eye disease program or used for the computer chip implant cultivation. In any case, donations are needed as the epidemic of blindness becomes alarmingly serious worldwide.

Combined efforts win the war against blindness fought with kindness…