The 2026 Vision Beyond Sight Celebration brought more than 200 supporters together on-site for a memorable evening championing Beyond Blindness children and families. The event was hosted on-site and Beyond Blindness, allowing everyone to see the spaces that foster growth, independence, and hope.

Together we raised more than $325,000 to fund key programs and initiatives that will allow us to support more children and families.

Event Highlights

The evening programming began with President and CEO Angie Rowe’s organizational update where she shared key milestones, including key partnerships with Orange County Head Start, and the Anaheim Ducks.

Led by Board-Chair elect Geoff, Kissel, a panel of four Beyond Blindness students and one alum shared the stage to share the impact of Education and Enrichment programs. These personal stories highlighted the uniqueness of Beyond Blindness programs and how they change the trajectory of visually impaired children’s lives.

The program also included a moving keynote by author, and former USA Blind Hockey forward, Craig Fitzpatrick, who shared his journey of losing his vision due to Stargardt disease. In “Blindness Is a Team Sport,” he emphasized that nobody can see everything, that collaboration helps everyone succeed and challenged attendees to shift focus from limitations to strengths, and to view challenge as a catalyst for growth—encouraging others to ask not whether something is too hard, but whether it is hard enough.