(Words used S. Rotan Hale to describe the 2016 event)
The needs of persons with vision challenges are often invisible in our community. Thanks to the Roanoke Alliance for the Visually Enabled (RAVE), a support group serving persons from the Roanoke area that are blind or have limited vision, we have greater awareness of this group of citizens. One of their greatest needs, as with every person, is to be valued as a person. They want people to know that limited vision or blindness is just one of their attributes; it does not define who they are!
For that reason, the Roanoke Valley Breakfast Lions Club (RVBLC), in collaboration with RAVE, is proud to sponsor “Limited by Sight not by Style,” a runway show featuring models with vision challenges, for the second year. RVBLC‘s sponsorship of this event honors the mandate that Lions Clubs International accepted from Helen Keller in 1925 to serve as an advocate for persons who are blind.
Due to the extremely positive response to the 2016 show, this fundraiser and awareness event, with the support of Hermitage of Roanoke, will be held Saturday, April 8, 2017 at 2:00 pm at the Holiday Inn Valley View, 3315 Ordway Drive in Roanoke.
Hosted by Patrick McKee and Rachel Lucas of WSLS -10, the event will include hors d’oeuvres, entertainment, and a silent auction, followed by the runway show. All proceeds will be used to benefit persons with vision difficulties. Profits from last year’s event were divided between a donation to RAVE and purchase of a Spot Vision Screener used for early detection of vision problems of Roanoke Area school children.
Tickets ($20 ea.) can be purchased at: The Roanoke Tribune, 2318 Melrose Ave., NW and Physicians to Women, 21 Highland Ave., SE, #200. Also, for tickets and additional information, contact Barbara Pendergrass Richmond, RVBL member and event chair, at 540-818-0520, or Dianne Decker, founder of RAVE at 540-562-0455, by April 3 for guaranteed admittance.
Shopping for a good cause at Talbots
In support of the Roanoke Valley Breakfast Lions Club Charity fundraiser, on Friday, March 17, from 10 a.m.– 6 p.m., Talbots located in Forum Shopping Center, 4702 Starkey Rd., SW will donate 10% of pretax dollars to the RVBLC fund (one day only).
For questions, call Barbara Pendergrass Richmond, 540-818-0520.
