Ninth Annual SeeShore Fest Raises Awareness on Retina Diseases

Heather Napolitano has been a patient of William Feinbloom Low Vision Rehabilitation Center housed at The Eye Institute (TEI),  ever since she received treatment from Dr. Erin Kenny. 

“Heather is a dream to work with, in and out of the exam room. She is such an advocate for individuals with visual impairment and the SeeShore event is always a blast. She is a leader in the blind and low vision community," said Dr. Kenny.

In 2013, she began losing her vision after discovering she had a retinal disease leaving her with blind spots. She has a working diagnosis of autoimmune retinopathy, meaning her body is attacking her vision. This completely changed her life in countless ways as what she sees often resembles an abstract painting. As a result, she had  to give up driving, and moved closer to her parents in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. 

Thanks to the visual aids she received at TEI, she could see her daughter’s dance recital - an important moment in her life. “I could see her on stage a little bit, so it was magical,” said Napolitano, a mother of two, eager to give others the same opportunity she had.

The challenges didn’t end there, as the biggest one had yet to come, which was the lack of public awareness about blindness. This prompted her and her husband to start a fundraising event called SeeShore Fest, held annually at the Starboard in Dewey Beach, Delaware. The SeeShore Fest aims to raise awareness about retinal diseases and blindness. “Ninety percent of people that are blind can see something,” said Napolitano, who often corrects strangers who misunderstand her disability. 

 This year the event took place on Aug. 24, with the main event being a Punch-a-Bunch game in which participants paid $20 to win mystery prizes. There was also an addition of the “Big Board” which was $40 per punch. These two games helped the fundraiser raise $30,110, of which a percentage goes directly to William Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center. 

“We did it! We reached our $30,000 fundraising goal,” said Napolitano. “Between watching everyone get excited for their prize behind the punch, and so many people from our community being there, it was truly our best year yet.”

In total, this year's SeeShore fest raised $15,055 for Feinbloom. These funds will help continue its rehab program and benefit patients. A check will be presented to the center on Oct. 5 at the Philadelphia VisionWalk.

In the last nine years, this event has been able to raise more than $166,000 to benefit the Foundation Fighting Blindness and William Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center.