FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information:
Prevent Blindness, Ohio Affiliate
Dori Jennings
(614) 270-0746
[email protected]
Prevent Blindness Honors the Columbus Crew with
2022 People of Vision Award
February 18, 2022 (Columbus, OH) The Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness was proud to honor The Columbus Crew on February 17, 2022 at a dinner event in the beautiful Huntington Field Club at Lower.com Field.
Since 1985, The Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness has recognized and awarded select organizations and their leaders for visionary leadership and community service. The People of Vision Award event has become one of Central Ohio’s premier charitable events in support of the Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness (PBO) and its mission to prevent blindness and preserve sight.
As last year’s honoree, Tom Feeney and Safelite AutoGlass, chaired the event and presented the 2022 award to the Columbus Crew, and it was accepted by Kristin Bernert, President of Business Operations. Feeney asked that we join in celebrating the Columbus Crew for their extensive support in the Central Ohio community.
“Through their Give Forward program,” Feeney said, “the Crew has strived to make measurable impact in the Central Ohio community by making youth soccer more accessible. Since the Haslam, Edwards and Johnson families assumed ownership in 2019, the Club has built four mini pitches in Columbus – with a fifth on the way – to provide safe, accessible spaces for kids to play and learn the game. In partnership with the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, the Crew has supported Ohio’s first blind soccer team, Ohio Blind Soccer.”
“The Columbus Crew is also committed to keeping youth athletes physically healthy as well as breaking the stigma around children’s mental health through a partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the ‘On Our Sleeves’ movement,” Feeney added.
Bernert proudly accepted the honor on behalf of the Columbus Crew. “When I was thinking about this award and what it means to have vision, I thought of the ability to see, and the incredible athletes that we have on our team who are in the prime of their lives, and how easy it is to take vision for granted,” she said. “And when I sit back and look into the future about what the Crew and the City of Columbus can do together, the possibilities are endless and I know that we’ll play a role in making our country a better place.”
“Prevent Blindness, Ohio Affiliate is proud to honor the Columbus Crew with the 2022 People of Vision Award,” Amy Pulles, President and CEO of PBO stated, “and we look forward to them chairing the event next year.”
Half of all blindness is preventable, and the number of individuals who are blind or visually impaired is expected to double by the year 2030 if nothing is done to address the problem. Furthermore, it is estimated that the economic impact of visual disorders and disabilities costs approximately $5.4 billion annually in Ohio.
About Prevent Blindness, Ohio Affiliate
Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. The Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness is Ohio’s leading volunteer nonprofit public health organization dedicated to prevent blindness and preserve sight. We serve all 88 Ohio counties, providing direct services to 1,000,000 Ohioans annually and educating millions of consumers about what they can do to protect and preserve their precious gift of sight. For more information or to make a contribution, call 800-301-2020. Or, visit us on the web at www.pbohio.org or facebook.com/pbohio and Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/PB_Ohio.
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