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Foundation Fighting Blindness launches retinal disease awareness campaign

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The Foundation Fighting Blindness has recently launched the #HowEyeSeeIt campaign to raise awareness and research funds for retinal degenerative diseases, according to a press release.

Part of the campaign’s social media outreach will include a “blindfold challenge” where individuals affected by retinal degenerative diseases are paired with celebrities, including Harry Shum Jr. of Glee, Diane Guerrero of Orange is the New Black and Justin Baldoni of Jane the Virgin, to demonstrate the difficulties of living with vision impairment or loss.

There will also be a few celebrity pairings in the challenge, according to press correspondence, including DJ Vice with blind DJ Lance Blaise, blind longsnapper Jake Olson with the USC Trojans and blind Masterchef winner Christine Ha with celebrity chef Tim Love.

Other campaign ambassadors will include NASCAR drivers Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr., former New York Governor David Patterson and basketball celebrity Phil Ford. Partners of the campaign include MSNBC, Huffington Post, BounceX, Athletes for Hope, Dose, Little Things, The Skimm Outfront Media, Oxygen and the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes.

“We’re thrilled that so many leaders from the entertainment, sports and business community are joining us in taking the blindfold challenge,” Bill Schmidt, chief executive officer of Foundation Fighting Blindness, said in the release. “We hope it will give people a better understanding of what it is like to live with a blinding disease and ultimately inspire them to join us in the fight to find a cure.”

The campaign’s website, https://howeyeseeit.org, encourages the public to learn more about retinal degenerative diseases and to make a donation. Additionally, there is information on how to get involved with the campaign, such as filming a short video of participating in an activity while blindfolded and sharing it on social media channels with the hashtag #HowEyeSeeIt and tagging three friends to participate. The campaign is set to conclude on World Sight Day, Oct. 13.