“Race for Sight” go-kart racing event to benefit visually impaired veterans, civilian adults and children

The San Diego alumnae chapter of the Delta Gamma women’s fraternity will be hosting its sixth Race for Sight fundraising event on Sunday, May 19 at Miramar Speed Circuit.

The event features high-speed indoor go-kart team relay racing, a silent auction and opportunity drawing that will raise funds for research and services for visually impaired veterans, children and adults. The event will begin at 4 p.m. with dinner and registration; followed by the first race at 5 p.m. Proceeds will support the Delta Gamma Foundation and their Service for Sight: Joining Forces program, the Vision of Children Foundation and the Braille Institute.

Race for Sight has raised more than $30,000 for vision-related causes since 2005.  The event features go-kart relay races in which teams of two to six drivers race to finish 60 laps around a quarter mile track at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. There will be multiple races for different skill levels, and trophies will be awarded to the winning team of each race. Team and spectator entry fees will include dinner and refreshments, go-kart races and unlimited arcade games.

This year, the San Diego Delta Gamma alumnae chapter is especially enthusiastic about the opportunity to directly improve the lives of veterans by raising funds for Delta Gamma’s newest service endeavor founded in fall 2012, the Service for Sight: Joining Forces program. Through this program, Delta Gamma has partnered with the Department of Defense, Veterans Administration and other non-profits to provide volunteer service and fundraising to help veterans who have lost their sight while at war. The program will fund improvements to eye injury clinical care, vision research and life changing benefits for service members. You can view a video about Joining Forces here.

According to the Department of Defense, military men and women serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom have sustained the highest rate of eye injuries since the U.S. Civil War. An estimated 17 to 20 percent of all injuries incurred in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have been vision-related.

This program has the potential to greatly impact the veteran population of San Diego in particular, since San Diego County has the third largest population of veteran residents in the Unites States and is the number one destination for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. 

In addition to fundraising for Service for Sight: Joining Forces, Race for Sight will also support two other local organizations: The Vision of Children Foundation and the Braille Institute of America’s San Diego center. Vision of Children’s mission is to cure hereditary childhood blindness and other vision disorders, and to improve the lives of visually impaired individuals and their families. The Foundation directs and sponsors scientific research leading to the prevention and treatment of these conditions, and serves as an information source for the medical community, the public, and families affected by genetic vision disorders. The mission of the Braille Institute is to eliminate barriers to a fulfilling life caused by blindness and severe sight loss. They provide an environment of hope and encouragement through integrated educational, social, and recreational programs.

Highlights of the silent auction include four tickets to a game at Yankee Stadium; three nights and four days at the all-inclusive Paradisus Resort in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico; and two nights at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs in a Jr. Suite with two spa treatments and a round of golf. Please visit http://6thraceforsight.eventbrite.com/ for more information about silent auction prizes, pricing and registration for race teams and spectators, and racing guidelines. Teams and spectators are encouraged to register online prior to the event to take advantage of tiered pricing. For sponsorship and donation opportunities, please contact Megan Powers at mpowers@visionofchildren.org or at 858-314-7916. 

The San Diego alumnae chapter of Delta Gamma has 2,000 members and provides scholarships and advises to two local collegiate chapters at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego.

About Delta Gamma and the Delta Gamma Foundation: Delta Gamma is an international women’s organization founded in 1873 in Oxford, Mississippi. It has 147 collegiate chapters, 200 alumnae chapters and more than 200,000 initiated members in the United States and Canada. The Delta Gamma Foundation is the charitable arm of the organization; a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in 1951 that provides resources for educational growth and philanthropic service for all members. Since incorporation, the Foundation has awarded over $3.15 million to organizations that share its mission.

###

Twitter: @RaceforSight

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Race-For-Sight/481351191920469?fref=ts

Contact:

Megan Powers, event founder and co-chair, mpowers@visionofchildren.org

Lauren Highleyman, public relations chair, lauren_mh@sbcglobal.net