Health & Fitness
Oak Park Family Fights Blindness at Oct. 23 VisionWalk
Oak Park Family Fights Blindness at Oct. 23 VisionWalk
As chair of the 5th Annual Los Angeles VisionWalk, Oak Park resident Fred Wolinsky is working with the Foundation Fighting Blindness to raise awareness and research funds for vision-robbing retinal degenerative diseases that affect more than 10 million Americans. At age 6, his daughter Jessie was diagnosed with the genetic condition retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which is characterized by night blindness and a progressive loss of peripheral vision.
“It’s devastating to watch my daughter deal with a retinal disease that will continue to rob her vision,” says Fred Wolinsky. “While there’s currently no cure, I’m hopeful for a brighter future because the Foundation Fighting Blindness is funding many avenues of promising research, including breakthrough gene therapy clinical trials that have restored vision in children and young adults who were previously blind. VisionWalk is an opportunity for us to come together in support of research and move one step closer to a cure.”
Jessie entered college this fall despite challenges associated with RP, and she will sing in a special VisionWalk performance with members of a well-known, Los Angeles-based band that rose to stardom in the 1970s writing and performing their original hit songs “Low Rider,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” and “The Cisco Kid.”
The Wolinsky family’s “Jessie’s Sight Savers” VisionWalk team hopes to raise $15,000 toward the event’s overall goal of $100,000 for blindness research. The walk will take place on Sunday, Oct. 23, at UCLA’s Dickson Court South. Funds raised will support research efforts for preventions, treatments and cures for retinal degenerative diseases, including RP, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, Stargardt disease, and numerous others.
Hundreds of walkers are expected at the free, family-friendly event, which also includes children’s activities, a bounce house, refreshments, entertainment, and more. Dogs and strollers are welcome on the 3.1 mile course. Sponsors include radio stations 95.5 KLOS and TalkRadio 790 KABC, and the Jules Stein Eye Institute. Since the VisionWalk program started in 2006, more than 60,000 walkers have participated in events across the country to raise more than $18 million for blindness research.
People interested in participating or donating should visit www.FightBlindness.org/LosAngelesVisionWalk.
For information on events happening in Oak Park go to www.oakparkupdate.com
