Retailers from Coast to Coast Show Support for The Vision of Children Foundation

San Diego, CA, December 15, 2008 --(PR.com)-- The Vision of Children Foundation (VOC), a non-profit organization focused on finding a cure for hereditary childhood blindness, today announced that retailers and shoppers on both coasts have shown overwhelming support for VOC. In Central New Jersey, Saker ShopRites, world-class supermarkets, raised over $220,000 by asking shoppers to make direct donation to the VOC. Del Mar Highlands Town Center, a small local strip mall in Del Mar, California, is selling holiday cards designed by local students and will donate the proceeds to VOC.

All 27 Saker-owned stores participated in the fundraising, with several ShopRites going above and beyond the opt-in collection program at the check out stands. For example, the Marlboro store constructed a carnival for the day to raise awareness of VOC and encourage donations. The Del Mar Highlands Town Center used its 2nd Annual “Lights Across the World” Tree Lighting Ceremony to shed light on the VOC’s efforts. The holiday cards went on sale at the event and are expected to bring in $2,000.

“We are thrilled to see retailers take up our cause and help us on our mission to improve the lives of the visually impaired,” said Sam Hardage, Chairman and founder of the Vision of Children Foundation. “These programs are so simple to implement and all the contributions, big and small, help us get closer to finding a cure. The outreach that retailers can provide is tremendous and we can’t say enough how grateful we are for the support.”

“We are happy to work with retailers who are interested in creating a fundraiser of their own,” said Michelle Pius, development director for the Vision of Children Foundation. “This type of community outreach is so important in helping us build awareness and support for the VOC as well as to create understanding of the challenges that the visually-impaired face. These retailers can help us reach more people than we can ever hope to reach through our own efforts.”

About Vision of Children

Established in 1991, the Vision of Children (VOC) Foundation’s mission is to cure hereditary childhood blindness and vision disorders, and to improve the quality of life of visually impaired individuals and their families. More than 850,000 children in the United States suffer from visual impairments and VOC is the only international, non-profit foundation that funds genetic vision research and facilitates communication between the families, educators, healthcare professionals and researchers who care for these children. Currently, VOC supports 23 researchers at 12 institutions worldwide. With human gene therapy trials underway and initial results that are positive, the promise of a cure literally is within sight. Now more than ever, the Vision of Children Foundation remains fully committed to enabling thousands of children to see and better participate in the world around them. For more information, visit http://www.visionofchildren.org.

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