Foundation

World Sight Day

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  • Eyes on the Ball Campaign

World Sight Day (WSD) is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October. The aim of World Sight Day is to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. Each year the Foundation supports World Sight Day with media campaigns and events that highlight the importance of saving sight.

In 2013 Bowls Australia and the Macular Disease Foundation Australia joined forces to knock Australia’s leading cause of legal blindness out of play on World Sight Day, 10 October.

The Australian-first campaign, ‘Keep your eye on the ball,’ was supported by Bayer Australia and rolled out at two of the country’s leading Bowling Clubs – Yarraville Footscray Bowling Club and Glen Eira McKinnon Bowls Club.

The campaign focused on the importance of early detection and intervention for age-related macular degeneration and bowling greens at the Yarraville Footscray and Glen Eira McKinnon Bowling Clubs received a creative and captivating makeover as part of the campaign.

The eye-catching transformation included an important eye health message sending the strong message to older Australians to have an eye test and macula check and raising awareness of the importance of early detection especially for wet AMD. Eye tests were provided at the Clubs on the day.

Research Grants Awarded

On World Sight Day 2013, the Foundation awarded Research Grants, totalling $600,000 over three years, at an event held at the Sydney Opera House.

The Foundation was honoured to have the Honourable Peter Dutton MP, Minister for Health, Minister for Sport, announce the Foundation's successful recipients against the backdrop of the “Through his Eyes” photo tribute to Sydney Opera House designer Jørn Utzon. Jørn lived with macular degeneration in his later life.

Research Grants were awarded to:

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