Maryland Society for Sight

THE MARYLAND SOCIETY FOR SIGHT PARTICIPATES IN AUTUMN HARVEST

The Maryland Society for Sight was proud to partner with M&T Bank, the Baltimore Ravens, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods, UPS and Operation Blessing on Autumn Harvest, an exciting event which took place on Saturday, November 18^th in the Upton neighborhood of Baltimore. More than 200 volunteers packed and distributed bags of food for over 2,000 people in need.

The Maryland Society for Sight brought its vision van to Autumn Harvest and conducted visual acuity and glaucoma screenings for 60 people. The screenings were sponsored by the Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation which supports the Society’s Glaucoma Screening and Awareness Program. The Foundation arranges and provides screenings for glaucoma and other eye diseases throughout the United States at no cost to screening participants. Those people in need of an eye examination and eyeglasses at Autumn Harvest who don’t have insurance will be provided with a voucher for eye care thanks to a generous donation from M&T Bank. Those who failed the glaucoma screening will be referred to the University of Maryland for follow-up treatment.

Maryland Society for Sight volunteers and staff who provided screenings and assistance at Autumn Harvest included Kathleen Curtin, Phil Hosmer, Anne Kimball, Jacqueline Nerette, James Sutton, Jay and Donna Tinker, Victoria Valton, Lucia Ward-Alexander and Melvin Alexander.

Congressman Elijah Cummings was the keynote speaker at Autumn Harvest. A member of the Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation, Congressman Cummings is dedicated to educating people about the importance of vision screenings and eye examinations to detecting glaucoma which can be treated if caught early enough. He urged the attendees to have regular eye examinations to prevent vision loss from glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases which damages the optic nerve and can cause vision loss or blindness if left untreated. Half of the people with glaucoma don’t know it because it usually destroys vision without any pain. By the time people notice changes in their vision, glaucoma has already caused permanent damage. But if glaucoma is diagnosed in its earliest stages, it is usually a readily treatable condition.

For more information on glaucoma, please contact the Maryland Society for Sight at 410-243-2020.

For more photographs of the day, please click here!