Coffee morning fundraiser for chroideremia research

70 supporters of the London-based Tommy Salisbury Choroideremia Committee came together for the annual coffee morning on Saturday 10 July, raising £1,500 for research into choroideremia – a rare eye condition that affects 10-year-old Tommy Salisbury.

The coffee morning is one of several fundraising events organised by the Committee throughout the year. Since it was set up in 2005, they have raised over £160,000 to support choroideremia research.

Choroideremia is an inherited eye condition that causes progressive sight loss. Although there is currently no cure, Fight for Sight funded research at Imperial College London is hoping to develop new treatments for the condition.

Dot Grindley, Tommy’s grandmother and founder of the Committee, said: “This is our sixth coffee morning and every year we are fortunate to have the support of family and friends.  This year I would particularly like to thank both Tommy and his sister Amelia who staffed some of the stalls and helped to raise such an impressive fundraising total.”

Cakes sold at the coffee morning were all made from the Tommy’s Tucker recipe book. To order a copy email: tommystucker@googlemail.com.

[ends

For more information
call Louise Elliott at Fight for Sight on 020 7929 7755
or email press@fightforsight.org.uk.

Notes for Editor:
Fight for Sight is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to funding world-class research into the prevention and treatment of blindness and eye disease.

Since 1965, the charity has funded research at leading universities and hospitals throughout the UK. Our major achievements in this time include:
- saving the sight of thousands of premature babies through understanding and controlling levels of oxygen delivery;
- restoring sight by establishing the UK Corneal Transplant Service enabling over 48,000 corneal transplants to take place;
- revolutionising the treatment for children with amblyopia (lazy eye);
- bringing hope to children with inherited eye disease by helping fund the team responsible for the world’s first gene therapy clinical trial; and
- providing £1million for the research unit at the dedicated children’s eye centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

The charity’s current research programme focuses on age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataract and the causes of childhood blindness.