Contact Information:
Mike Walsh
Founder and Executive Director
(608) 609-8919
Mike@flightforsight.net
Release Date:
October 25, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Flight for Sight Secures $30,000 Matching Grant
from the Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation
NEW YORK, NY – Flight for Sight is pleased to announce that they have completed their fundraising efforts to secure a $30,000 matching gift from the Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation. The foundation gave Flight for Sight until April 30, 2024, to raise $30,000 but, thanks to a large and unexpected gift from the National Guardian Life Insurance Company, the goal has been achieved ahead of schedule. Generous contributions were also received from the James T. and Louise R. Broyhill Foundation and individual donors, including a corporate matching gift from Apple Inc.
“We are very excited to receive this funding as we are launching our application for the second round of three $10,000 travel grants next Wednesday!” said Mike Walsh, Founder and Executive Director of Flight for Sight. “We had a successful pilot run of grant making. We have learned a lot, and now we know we will be able to keep it going.”
In June of 2023, Flight for Sight announced its first three grant recipients: podcaster Brian Fischler, electronic music DJ Anthony Reyers, and goalball Paralympians Marybai Huking and Eliana Mason. Most of their travel has been completed and they have shared tons of content (with more to come!) on Flight for Sight’s website and social accounts. Applications for the 2024 round of travel grants will be available at FlightforSight.net/Apply starting at noon on Wednesday, November 1st.
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 low vision. Flight for Sight is online at www.FlightforSight.net.
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