OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, April 15, 2009 · 22 Blindness is no laughing matter Being blind isn't funny, but laughing can help find treatments and cures to restore vision. That's the message being delivered by 15-year-old Molly Burke, a volunteer with Comic Vision, a local comedy fundraiser which supports the Foundation Fighting Blindness. The annual fundraiser, being held on Wednesday, April 22 at the Operating Engineers Banquet & Conference Centre on Speers Road, will feature top Canadian comic, including headliner Mike MacDonald, and raise money to find treatments and cures for degenerative eye diseases, like the one Burke has, called retinitis pigmentosa. "Right now, I can't really see much," Burke said as she describes a day outside of her Oakville home, with her family and her guide dog, Gypsy. "I see nothing in my right eye because it's a really dim day. And in my left eye, I just see straight forward, as if I'm looking through a straw." Comic Vision, which has raised $1.5 million towards research to-date, gives Burke and her family hope for a brighter future. Most recently, the Foundation Fighting Blindness began a partnership with the Canadian government to fund $2.4 million over the next five years, to develop stem cell therapies to treat blindness. "As a parent, it's a ray of hope that Molly's vision will be restored. On the day Molly was diagnosed, doctors were convinced that within her lifetime they'd find a cure and this is a big step in that direction," said Peter Burke, Molly's dad. "One of the biggest challenges with something like vision loss, unlike cancer or heart disease, is that it's difficult to find people to fund research. But we're very pleased with the tremendous generosity and support from the community, many of whom know someone affected by an eye disease, who come out to support Comic Vision every year," said Peter Burke. Comic Vision, which takes place in five Canadian cities, raised $610,000 in 2008 and has set its sights even higher this year. Comic Vision was co-founded by Oakville resident and comedian Meg Soper and former Oakville resident, Ann Morrison in 1999, after Morrison's son was diagnosed with RP. The Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) is Canada's largest private contributor of vision research, thanks to donors and long-time annual fundraisers, Comic Vision and Ride for Sight. Since its inception in 1974, the FFB has funded dozens of research discoveries to identify the causes of genetic forms of blindness. Today, these discoveries have helped bring scientists to this very exciting time in vision research, translating knowledge into treatments to restore the gift of sight. For more information, visit: www.ffb.ca, or email: info@ffb.ca, or call 1-800-461-3331. BEST PRICES EVER What's keeping you from having your dream kitchen? Consider these time, mess & cost saving options... a. 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