Fundraising Initiatives Include Online Crowdfunding Campaign and

16th Annual “The Eyes of Christmas” Television Special for the Visually Impaired 

LOS ANGELES -- (December 9, 2010) – Helen Harris’ RP (Retinitis Pigmentosa) International (www.rpinternational.org) — the longest-standing non-profit organization leading the way for medical and technological advancements for the visually impaired — initiates a Holiday Season fundraising campaign in an effort to save The School for The Blind, located in Van Nuys, California.  Fundraising efforts include an online crowdfunding campaign hosted at FirstGiving.com (www.firstgiving.com/RPi/Event/savetheschool) where third parties can start their own fundraising campaigns for the School.  Donations can also be made directly to RPI at www.firstgiving.com/rpi.  RPI intends to find 7,500 people to donate $10.00 each by December 31, 2010.  In addition, funds raised by this year’s 16th Annual “The Eyes of Christmas” television special will go towards saving the School.

 

 

“The Eyes of Christmas" television special is the brainchild of blind activist and RP International (RPI) founder Helen Harris.  The event features TheatreVision™ airings of Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life,” which includes an optional simulcast audio track description on the SAP channel for the visually impaired, narrated by former President George Herbert Walker Bush.  NBC will air the special on December 11th and December 24th at 8:00 p.m. ET.

“The Eyes of Christmas” culminates in a special 30-minute program on Christmas Day at 6:00 a.m. ET on ION Television.  Participating stars that will be sharing Holiday messages and support for RPI include Celine Dion, Garth Brooks, Reba McIntyre, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Bob Costas and Natalie Cole. Hollywood studios supporting the show and featuring special film trailers include Universal (“The Dilemma,” “Little Fockers”), Disney (“Tangled”), Sony (“Country Strong”), Fox (“Gulliver’s Travels”) and Warner Bros. (“Yogi Bear”). Harris invites sighted viewers to tune in to take the "traveling eye test."  This simple visual test is designed to help people spot possible signs of eye disorders to seek early diagnosis and treatment, possibly averting vision loss.

Harris says, “Due to recent cuts, students at The School for The Blind are already down from five to two days per week.  The School provides a haven for those that are visually impaired with training for the social, emotional and physical implications related to losing one's vision.  The program is also hosting autistic and mentally disabled students, so it will be a tragedy for all of these students and their loved ones if this program cannot continue in 2011.”

RP International (RPI) aims to raise $75,000 (the cost to keep the program running fully each year) to save the School from closure since its State-funded grant of the same amount has been cut in a wave of social programs that the State eliminated due to the lagging economy.  The current grant expires on December 31, 2010.

Harris adds, “If the funds are not raised to keep the school open, these students will have nowhere to go to continue their specialized education and mobility training, which allows them to function as productive and purposeful citizens.”

The School will also be hosting what could be its last annual Holiday Lunch on Tuesday, December 14th.

About “The Eyes of Christmas”

"The Eyes of Christmas" telecast benefits RP International, the nation's leading non-profit fighting Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and other degenerative eye diseases.  NBC will air “It’s a Wonderful Life” nationally in TheatreVision™, narrated by former President George H.W. Bush, on December 11th and December 24th at 8:00 p.m. ET.  This year’s finale to “The Eyes of Christmas” will begin at 6:00 a.m. ET on ION Television Christmas morning, and is down to 30-minutes from the usual two and a half hour show, due to budget cutbacks.   More information is available via RP International's web site, www.eyesofchristmas.org. 

About The School for The Blind

The School for the Blind in Van Nuys, California, is also known as the Visually Handicapped Adults of the Valley (VHAV) Program. This is the only program in the San Fernando Valley that caters especially to the elderly and visually impaired adults.  However, this could well be the last Christmas for this 38 year old, venerable institution.  In the past, VHAV has enjoyed the funding of volunteer services supported by RP International and the City of Los Angeles.  However, the past two years have been challenging due to the state of the economy.  VHAV has lost approximately 35% of city grants, and as a result had to reduce the number of classes offered, close it doors to only two days per week, as well as make staff layoffs.  Despite the obstacles, VHAV continues in their efforts to keep the doors open to serve the blind.  "This school is a lifeline for these people," says Harris.  “Transportation and classes in Braille and home economics are just a few of the pieces that have dwindled off as each of the grants has been removed.  There's a great need for a facility like this because blind people need a way out of their homes with trained people that they can trust.”

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About RP International (RPI)

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a degenerative, hereditary eye disease that afflicts nearly 3.5 million people worldwide.  When diagnosed with the condition 40 years ago, Helen Harris was a homemaker in Pennsylvania.  Once she found out that she had passed on RP to two out of her three sons, she started a mission to save vision by founding RP International (RPI).  Since then, Harris’ non-profit organization has led the fight against disabling eye diseases that afflict over 31 million people in America and worldwide.  RPI has raised over $5 million to date during the past 40 years of telethons and special events, including its annual “Vision Awards” fundraiser, for medical research for restoring vision.  RPI is also behind the first successful retinal transplant that has fully restored vision in blind patients.  RPI has also enlisted other donors into contributing more than $ 300 million directly to medical research for eye health.

Whether Retinitis Pigmentosa, Macular Degeneration, Usher's Syndrome, Batten's Disease, or other visual impairments, RPI has helped pierce the darkness through the following initiatives: sponsoring medical research and communication amongst leading researchers; providing human services for blind and sight-impaired children, young adults, and seniors; educating the public, the medical profession, and those suffering from disabling eye diseases; pioneering TheatreVision™, an innovative technical development invented at RPI that permits the blind and sight-impaired to watch movies and television with their sighted family and friends; the annual “Eyes of Christmas” special broadcast, raising awareness and bringing holiday cheer to the blind; as well as the annually televised Vision Awards (www.visionawards.org), which honors major luminaries across the fields of entertainment, science, sports and the arts.  Harris has partnered with many of the biggest stars and movie studios to produce TheatreVision™ versions of major feature films, including James Cameron, who lent his voice for the audio description of his blockbuster hit, "Titanic."

Contributions to support RPI’s initiatives to save vision can be made via mail to: RP International, PO BOX 900, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, or online at www.rpinternational.org. For information please contact Helen Harris at 818-992-0631, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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Media Contact: Heather Burgett at 310.452.9133 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it