Dinner in the Dark: A Culinary Adventure to Raise Funds Retinal Disease
Hope in Focus will host its signature fundraising event of the year – Dinner in the Dark – on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT.
Dinner in the Dark is a highly anticipated event for the Ledyard-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Guests can expect a unique sensory and culinary experience while wearing a blindfold and enjoying a gourmet meal. The menu is secret, known only to guests who can read a Braille-scripted menu.
Hope in Focus provides information, important connections, and support to individuals and families worldwide affected by Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a rare inherited retinal disease. While some children diagnosed with LCA are born with little or no vision, others may have significant vision loss in the first few years of life, stable vision for a while, and eventually total vision loss.
Hope in Focus also raises funds for access to genetic testing – a critical step to finding the gene mutation causing any of the 27 identified forms of LCA – and to support research advances to treat blindness.
Laura Manfre, co-founder and board chair of Hope in Focus, said, “We are grateful we can continue raising funds to support treatments for blindness in our rare disease community, which continues to grow nationally and internationally. Our goal is to fund research while providing information and outreach to those with retinal diseases.
“Funds raised from the dinner – which draws an audience from across southeastern Connecticut and the United States – are critical to our mission, and we’re looking forward to having a strong turnout while we celebrate the tenth anniversary of our organization,” said Director of Outreach and Development Courtney Coates.
All proceeds from the event and the auction fund research and advocacy efforts for people who hope to one day have treatments to improve their vision or halt vision loss.
This year’s guest speaker, Anthony Ferraro, will share his experiences as a social media star, professional athlete, musician, and father living with LCA. He will talk about his life experiences and hopes for a possible treatment for LCA.
The event will also honor Simply Majestic owners Susette Tibus and Chuck Sneddon. Simply Majestic is a jewelry store in Mystic, CT, and since the inception of Dinner in the Dark, the couple has donated Majestic Boxes to the event. Each box contains specially designed jewelry. Attendees can purchase a Majestic Box, and one lucky winner will receive the grand prize valued at $2,300.
Preceding Dinner in the Dark this year, Hope in Focus is co-hosting a free informational event with the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Northeast Vision Seminar. This event includes a panel of IRD experts, a discussion on living with degenerative retinal diseases, and a conversation on how patient advocacy can help advance treatments. More information and registration information is available on this page.
Many other sponsors are helping the organization meet its fundraising goal, including Angelini Wine and Beer’d Brewing, which provides wine and beer pairings with dinner. And Foxwoods Resort and Casino contributes to the menu, offsetting the organization’s expenses and, in turn, allowing Hope in Focus to provide its guests with a stellar gourmet experience.
Event sponsors:
C & S Associates
Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT
Charter Oak Federal Credit Union
Duncklee Cooling & Heating Inc.
Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce
Hartford Healthcare – Backus Hospital
Howard & Marcie Brensilver
Hoyt, Filippetti & Malaghan, LLC
Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine
Melissa Allen Pilates & Movement
Mystic Financial Group
Southeast Connecticut Eye Care
The Remote Coxswain
TMG Plumbing & Disaster Solutions
Valenti Family of Dealerships / Dragonfly Equestrian Center
For more information on Dinner in the Dark, to purchase tickets, and to view the sponsorship opportunities, please visit our website hopeinfocus.org/dinner. Tickets are $175 per person or $2,020 for a 20/20 Vision Table Patron (table of eight with preferred seating). Sponsor opportunities start at $500. For more information on sponsorships, please contact Courtney Coates at courtney@hopeinfocus.org or 860-266-6062.
About Hope in Focus
Hope in Focus is a nonprofit advocacy organization founded as Sofia Sees Hope in 2014 by Laura Manfre and Charles Priebe, parents of a child born with the rare, inherited blinding retinal disease, Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). The global organization is dedicated to advancing treatments for blindness by raising funds for research and by providing information and support to the LCA community. Hope in Focus bridges the unnecessary chasm between the people who inform the science, and the science that transforms how people live, while keeping families and individuals living with this rare disease in focus each step of the way.