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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 18th 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!
    
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