Contact Information:
Mike Walsh
Founder and Executive Director
(608) 609-8919
Mike@FlightforSight.net
Release Date:
June 14, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Flight for Sight Receives Matching Pledge from The Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation
NEW YORK, NY – The Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation has committed to a generous $30,000 matching pledge in support of Flight for Sight. The structure of the pledge challenges Flight for Sight to raise the funds in three $10,000 installments between now and April 30, 2024.
“In keeping with Flight for Sight’s spirit of building community and utilizing social media, we are reaching out to our followers to raise the first $10,000 by July 31, 2023,” said Flight for Sight’s Founder and Executive Director Mike Walsh. “We are incredibly honored that Mr. Gund is supporting our mission.”
Gordon Gund is the CEO of Gund Investment Corporation and, along with his late wife, signed The Giving Pledge, which is a commitment to give a majority of their wealth to philanthropy. Mr. Gund has vision loss due to retinitis pigmentosa and is a co-founder of Foundation Fighting Blindness. He has called Flight for Sight a “very compelling program.”
Flight for Sight will aim to complete two more $10,000 rounds of fundraising by October 31, 2023, and April 30, 2024. Success of the matching challenges will result in $60,000 being available for the next round of travel grants for individuals who are blind or have low vision as well as the foundation’s continuing operations.
To make a donation go here. https://secure.qgiv.com/for/flightforsightinc
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 was no longer driving and used a cane to get around. He launched a social media campaign to crowdsource ideas of places he should see before his vision became any worse. Along the way 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 and vision impairment. Flight for Sight is online at www.flightforsight.net.
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Photo Description: Gordon and Llura Gund are smiling side by side. Gordon is wearing a navy blue jacket over a light blue dress shirt. Llura is wearing a long sleeved black shirt.