Contact Information:
Mike Walsh
Founder and Executive Director
(608) 609-8919
Mike@FlightforSight.net
Release Date:
June 8, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Flight for Sight Announces First Round of Grant Recipients
NEW YORK, NY – A new nonprofit providing travel grants to individuals who are blind or have low vision has awarded its inaugural round of three $10,000 grants.
Flight for Sight received over a hundred applications from across the US and from Canada, the UK, Australia, Belgium, Tanzania, and Turkey during its first application period, which ran from March 1 through May 1, 2023.
On Monday, June 5, the Flight for Sight board voted to name Brian Fischler, Anthony Reyers, and duo Marybai Huking and Eliana Mason as the first cohort of travelers.
Brian Fischler, an experienced podcaster, will launch Flight for Sight’s podcast. He will be sitting down with a blind/visually impaired person in cities across the U.S. to discuss the experience of living in and traveling to those cities. Brian will also document his experience bringing his guide dog, Wesley, through airports, train stations, and to Major League Baseball stadiums in each city.
Anthony Reyers is the DJ half of Xijaro and Pitch, a producer/DJ trance music duo. He will create episodes that will serve as resources for blind/visually impaired musicians and sighted audiences alike while touring Europe and Asia.
Marybai Huking and Eliana Mason are goalball Paralympic medalists. They will travel to Europe to help blind sports organizations become more involved in goalball and promote the value and importance of team sports for improving health, confidence, and mental well-being in the blind community.
“I am very excited to see what this group of people will create,” said Mike Walsh, Founder and Executive Director of Flight for Sight. “Getting this project off the ground has been a dream of mine. It has been a lot of work, but it has been incredibly rewarding. We look forward to continuing to build a community of blind and low vision people who enjoy traveling and educating others about blindness.”
The grant recipients will travel between June and October 2023. They will create social media content along the way and produce various final pieces that will serve as inspiring and educational resources for blind, low vision, and sighted folks alike.
Find Flight for Sight online:
About Flight for Sight:
Flight for Sight is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded by Mike Walsh in 2021, with the mission of giving individuals who are blind or have low vision the opportunity to explore the world, engage with others, and educate people about their lifestyles and experiences. Mike was diagnosed with Usher syndrome in 1997. By 2014, his vision had deteriorated to the point where he could no longer drive and used a cane to get around. He launched a social media campaign to crowdsource ideas for places he should see before his vision became any worse. During his travels, he conducted interviews with other people experiencing vision loss and created a blog. He established Flight for Sight to give other people the chance to take a meaningful trip and produce educational content to advance the understanding of blindness.
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