Smith-Kettlewell Raises Funds for Foundation Fighting Blindness at VisionWalk 2026

This summer, members of Smith-Kettlewell’s Blindness and Low Vision Support Group walked alongside institute researchers at the Bay Area VisionWalk, fielding Team Smith-Kettlewell Vision SKouts, the institute’s first team at the event.

The support group meets monthly to connect people who are blind or have low vision with resources, guest speakers and each other. Founded by Donald Fletcher, MD, the support group is now facilitated by occupational therapist Annemarie Rossi and Smith-Kettlewell researcher Anish Visht, and welcomes anyone touched by vision loss, no labels required.

VisionWalk is organized by the Foundation Fighting Blindness, a nonprofit that funds research into treatments and cures for retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and Usher syndrome. Since it started in 2006, the event has grown to more than 35 cities nationwide and raised over $74 million for that research. The Bay Area VisionWalk, held each year in Golden Gate Park, has raised more than $2.6 million since 2007.

Two communities, one team

A team of 15 volunteers represented Smith-Kettlewell, drawing from institute staff and the support group. About 300 people came out for the three-mile walk this year, and Smith-Kettlewell was one of roughly 10 organizations with a booth on site. The team raised about $3,000 for Foundation Fighting Blindness’s Bay Area VisionWalk campaign in the two to three weeks before the walk. They even received a surprise visit from SJ Sharkie, the San Jose Sharks mascot, who stopped by the team’s spot along the route.

The booth was an opportunity to educate community members about the support programs and research at Smith-Kettlewell. A demonstration the team called “See Through Someone Else’s Eyes” invited visitors to put on simulation glasses and page through printed examples of how different conditions change what a person sees, alongside a blind spot test, a Perkins brailler to try, and information on the institute’s studies and how to take part in one.

A partnership beyond the walk

In the time following the event, Smith-Kettlewell has hosted the Foundation Fighting Blindness twice, once at a Blindness and Low Vision Support Group meeting and once at the institute itself, to talk through continued fundraising and outreach opportunities serving the community. These collaborative efforts help bolster our community, making sure that information and resources move freely between the groups working on its behalf.

“It’s a bit surreal – you spend your time working for a community in the lab, and then one morning you are standing in the middle of it. Several people signed up for our support group right there at the table, and they came to the next monthly meeting. Events like this are a reminder of why we do this work, and who we are doing it for.”

Anish Visht, facilitator, Blindness and Low Vision Support Group, Smith-Kettlewell

Smith-Kettlewell hopes to keep walking alongside the Foundation Fighting Blindness for years to come.