This year’s Dinner in the Dark at Foxwoods was a tremendous success, raising over $225,000 and welcoming 330 attendees. Because of the immense support of everyone who joined us for this important evening and those who supported from a distance it was our most successful year yet.
This year, we recognized Susette Tibus and Chuck Sneddon and the entire Simply Majestic team for their 10 years of incredible commitment to Hope in Focus and our LCA community. To honor their support, a special table was set up displaying the jewelry they generously donated over the years, along with photographs of the grand prizes from past events.
Susette Tibus stated in her remarks before dinner, “There is a saying in Africa if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.” Thanks to their abundant generosity of resources, time, talent, and community connections Hope in Focus has gone far in the last 10 years, becoming the leading global advocacy organization for those living with LCA.
Keynote speaker, Anthony Ferraro
Thank you to our speakers, emcee Mike O’Farrell, Laura Manfre, Courtney Coates, Sofia Priebe, and keynote speaker Anthony Ferraro. Anthony is a remarkable athlete, motivational speaker, social media sensation, and proud new father whose message is relatable and uplifting. With warmth and humor, Anthony heightened our understanding of LCA and its impact on daily life.
This year, we were delighted to host some extraordinary guests— one with hooves and others with wings! Courtesy of Mystic Aquarium, penguins waddled into the celebration. We’re incredibly grateful to Mystic Aquarium and want to thank their team, the penguins, and our zebra, a symbol of rare diseases, Luca Priebe.
The penguins from Mystic Aquarium.
We want to thank each of our sponsors, whose generous support helped us reach this exciting milestone. We also want to acknowledge the donors of the auction items, The Cartells for entertaining us with their music, and our 20/20 Vision Patrons for their contributions.
When it comes to the food and drinks, we can’t forget the contributions of our in kind donors, Angelini Wines,Beer’d, and Foxwoods. Not to mention the Foxwoods Resort and Casino team who designed, cooked and served a beautiful seasonal menu – check out what we ate on our “What’s for Dinner?” blog.
Lastly, a heartfelt thank you to our support team, including the Naval Submarine School in Groton, which served and assisted guests throughout the evening as sighted guides. We also thank our event committee for their hard work in planning, designing, and organizing the event.
As we head into Thanksgiving, we are feeling very grateful to the community of friends, family, volunteers, sponsors, attendees, donors, and penguins! You really showed your stripes and we sincerely thank everyone who made this year’s Dinner in the Dark a success. We look forward to welcoming you again next year.
With supercharged energy and positivity, Anthony, born with Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), shares what it’s like to be blind through motivational speaking and his various social media platforms. His wife, Kelly Anne, helps him plan out what he wants to portray, and then she shoots and edits the videos about their life that later appear on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Anthony’s social platforms have become popular as he shares what managing the world without vision is like. As an advocate for increased accessibility, whether he’s changing diapers, making smoothies, or skateboarding, he shares how he tackles a variety of activities without sight.
Anthony wearing a tie-dye tee-shirt holding up a peace sign and his guide cane.
Growing up in Spring Lake, New Jersey, the youngest of five children, Anthony was born with only 20/400 visual acuity (profound vision loss). He lost a chunk of vision in seventh grade and then again in his junior year of high school. Now in his late twenties, Anthony’s vision is decreasing daily, and he says, “The light is starting to go black.”
Against the odds, Anthony became a champion wrestler in high school and was the subject of an award-winning film, A Shot in the Dark, documenting his attempt to win a state wrestling championship in his senior year. In a previous interview with Hope in Focus, he said, “Wrestling has taught me a lot of things. It taught me hard work, that things don’t happen overnight, discipline, and how to deal with loss. It helped me prepare for life.”
Anthony aims to participate in the Los Angeles Paralympic Games in 2028 in Judo. The pivot from wrestling to Judo resulted from a concussion that ended his wrestling career in college. However, this event opened the door to pursuing Judo when the U.S. Paralympic team asked him to train for the team.
Open about his life, Anthony talks about struggling with depression. “When I was 19, I got so depressed that I checked myself into a mental health hospital. I learned a lot about mental health and not bottling things up. I got to work on myself and learn about what I was feeling and going through,” he said. “When I was 21 or 22, I started accepting the fact that I was blind and started using my cane and the resources that were around. That’s when my whole life changed. Soon after, I met Kelly Anne!”
An accomplished musician and skateboarder, Anthony is game to try almost anything. He and Kelly Anne have a baby girl, and some of his videos demonstrate how he cares for her. One example is his TikTok video “How I Find My Baby as a Blind Dad.” With unending zeal and courage, which Kelly Anne fully matches, Anthony propels himself into life.
Come meet Anthony and his family at Dinner in the Dark 2024 and hear him speak about his personal experiences and hopes for a possible treatment for LCA, tickets are available at hopeinfocus.org/dinner. Learn more about Anthony and connect with him on social media at asfvision.com.
So much more than a typical fundraiser, the 8th Hope in Focus Dinner in the Dark we advertised as “a unique sensory experience,” gave guests just that and much more Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, at the Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa in Groton, Connecticut.
Dinner in the Dark afforded the opportunity for guests to experience their dinner in a different way – wearing blindfolds. For a short time it offers a small taste of what it might be like for someone dealing with a rare retinal disease. This key fundraising event supports our mission of “Seeing a cure for blindness,” as we advocate for people living with Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and other rare inherited retinal diseases (IRDs).
Attendees sitting at table with their blindfolds on
Hope in Focus counted 273 attendees this year, with the event raising more than $200,000, a record amount for our annual fundraiser.
The evening is about bringing people together to connect with the mission of Hope in Focus, as we work to transform the lives of those living with blindness caused by LCA and raise funds to support research treatments.
Our hope for those treatments is becoming a reality through the half-million dollars we have raised throughout the years with the vital support from contributors and from people like those attending the dinner.
These essential dollars fund myriad retinal research studies here and abroad, and they ensure access to free genetic testing, a critical step toward finding retinal-disease treatments.
Laura Manfre
“Even as science advances, we still have only one treatment on the market today for just one form of LCA,” said Laura Manfre, Hope in Focus Co-founder and Board Chair. “We need to do better. We need to continue advancing the science, but also move the science from the lab and the clinic to the community waiting for treatments.
“It is with deep gratitude,” she said, “that we thank all the people who came out to support our efforts to improve the lives of people living with rare retinal disease and help advance research for treatments. We could not do this without you, and we are forever grateful for your contributions toward our mission.”
“Tonight for a brief time, you will get a taste of what it might be like to live with vision loss, including some of the social challenges that accompany it,” Courtney said. “We hope this will move you to join our journey, as we continue our work to fund research to treat blindness caused by LCA and expand our advocacy activities.”
Courtney, our sole full-time Hope in Focus staff member, thanked each of our sponsors, and there were many. Click here for a complete list of our 2023 Dinner in the Dark sponsors.
She also thanked our Dinner in the Dark Committee members – without whom the event would not have been possible – for volunteering their countless hours behind the scenes.
Laura described for newcomers the origin of Hope in Focus and its mission. She founded the organization in 2014 with her husband, Charles Priebe, and close friend Elisse Rosen, having been brought into the rare retinal disease community by her daughter Sofia, who was diagnosed with LCA at age 2.
Heading into its 10th year, Hope in Focus has grown into a global patient advocacy organization, supporting the LCA community and researchers seeking cures and therapies for rare inherited retinal diseases.
Laura introduced the evening’s key presenter, Dr. Daniel Chung, as a “rock star.” Dr. Chung is Chief Medical Officer for SparingVision, an ocular genomic medicine company. His work focuses on therapies to combat blinding diseases. He made a point of praising the courage of participants in clinical trials. These patients offer themselves to science, not knowing what the result may be, or if there will be any result at all.
“The real rock stars,” Dr. Chung said, “are those who say, ‘I’m going to be part of a clinical trial.’”
The final speaker before dinner was probably the most instructive. Sofia Priebe spoke via a video presentation to provide tips for a successful Dinner in the Dark experience.
Sofia advised on such techniques as determining which side of your knife is sharp, using utensils to gently explore the food on your plate, and remembering to always identify yourself and the person you’re speaking to in conversation at the table.
Now a junior at college, she spoke with the poise and grace of someone beyond her years. In her final tip, perhaps the most important, she advised: “Food to face, not face to food.”
Roger Nicholson, Executive Chef of the Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa, prepared the dinner presented in four courses. To see the menu, please go to: https://old.hopeinfocus.org/whats-for-dinner/
Each course tasted delicious, and Sofia’s advice was put to good use as well, with one participant heard to exclaim, “It’s a square plate! Use the grid system!”
Image of two attendees holding up wine glasses.
Attendee Karen Clarke of Guilford said navigating a meal while blindfolded is challenging and humbling.
“The experience gives you a small glimpse into the challenges so many deal with every day. It’s a great motivation for us to help with research – and be thankful for our own sight when the blindfold comes off.”
Rosalie and John Maxham of Stonington attending Dinner in the Dark for the first time.
“We came away appreciating this organization devoted to helping find a cure for a disease we never knew existed, and we were very happy to lend our support to this zebra.”
