ATLANTA, GA (PRWEB) September 28, 2016
Through Gia’s Eyes, an Atlanta-based non-profit foundation that helps improve the lives of children and young adults with Stargardt’s Disease, recently received valuable television exposure in conjunction with the organization’s second annual fundraising gala held in Tallahassee, FL.
WTXL ABC 27, with a viewership of approximately 350,000 households in the Tallahassee-Thomasville television market, aired a segment on its September 9th WTXL Sunrise morning program that highlighted Through Gia’s Eyes Foundation and Sight Savers America, a co-host of the gala.
Foundation President & CEO Alice Pergolini and Sights Savers America Director of Development Nicole Williams were interviewed by Sunrise AM News Anchor Christine Souder. Originally scheduled to run two minutes, the interview lasted more than four minutes. To view the segment, click: http://www.wtxl.com/community/through-gia-s-eyes-foundation-nd-annual-gala/article_77cd8994-7684-11e6-a19c-af581c8e5190.html
“It was a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness about children and young adults with Stargardt’s Disease and other visual impairments,” Pergolini says. “We were truly honored and deeply appreciative to have been given this platform.”
Stargardt’s Disease is an inherited form of juvenile macular degeneration that causes progressive vision loss, usually to the point of legal blindness. Symptoms, mainly vision loss, typically develop before age 20, and can also include wavy vision, blind spots, blurriness, impaired color vision, and difficulty adapting to dim lighting.
The interview helped promote the foundation’s fundraising event, held later that evening at The Edison, a highly popular, contemporary restaurant that opened in the Cascades Park area of Tallahassee in 2015. Attended by an estimated 85 people, the event included a buffet dinner, open bar, Rat Pack-style performers, casino tables, a live auction, and raffle prizes. The live auction raised more than $8,000. Those funds will be put towards the purchase of electronic magnifiers which cost approximately $2,500 each and are generally not covered by medical insurance.
Through Gia’s Eyes foundation is named in honor of Pergolini’s 12-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with Stargardt’s in 2014. Event sponsors included Morgan & Morgan and Audientis (presenting sponsors), BJM Events, Flowers Auto Group, Bondy’s Ford, Greg Webster, and the Walsingham Family
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ABOUT THROUGH GIA'S EYES
Through Gia's Eyes was created in 2015 to help low-income families, who have children suffering from visual impairment, by providing them with state-of-the-art medical devices to improve their day-to-day lives. The Foundation has partnered with the Center for Visually Impaired (CVI) in the State of Georgia to raise money in order to fund this cause. For more information, visit: http://www.throughgiaseyes.org.
ABOUT SIGHT SAVERS AMERICA
Sight Savers America is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) that assists children with obtaining eye exams, glasses and other needed eye care from local eye care providers and clinics. Children are referred to Sight Savers via failed vision screenings at schoosl, referrals from teachers, school administrators, school nurses, eye-care professionals and parents. Children of families who qualify for the Sight Savers program receive eye care they need at no cost to the family. For more information, visit: https://sightsaversamerica.org/.
MEDIA CONTACT
Alice Pergolini, President & CEO, Through Gia’s Eyes Foundation
Phone: 770.364.7215
eMail: apergolini(at)throughgiaseyes(dot)org
(High-resolution still imagery available upon request)
