Join the ACB Get Up & Get Moving committee on Saturday, July 17th, as we gather with partners and leaders from our community to launch a three-year health and wellness campaign intended to empower and raise awareness to ways, we can take back our health coming out of the pandemic.
Over 4 million Americans experience severe vision loss and blindness, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), puts a $51.4B burden on our annual economy. And with one out of three Americans with diabetes experience signs of diabetic retinopathy — now the leading cause of blindness among working-age adults — the negative impact felt by the COVID-19 pandemic only brought to the surface many of the challenges to inclusion and opportunity for many experiencing blindness.
The driving force behind the social and economic burden of blindness is the onset of additional debilitating conditions, morbidity, and lost productivity. Collectively, these forces stand in the way of inclusion and independence, deeply weaving their way into the physical, psychological, and social fabric of life for people who are blind and visually impaired. As these harmful barriers are brought to the test amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, ACB has recognized the potential to elevate a national campaign focused on health and well-being.
Tony Stephens, ACB’s Director of Development and Communications team, shared that “the more we engage individuals most at risk, creating a pathway to empowerment wherein they can play a leadership role toward securing full and equal inclusion and independence in our society”.
The campaign aims to increase physical well-being by undertaking a health and wellness campaign entitled “Get Up & GetMoving,” bringing together partners from the public and private sectors to create opportunities for physical activity through safe peer-to-peer and social events, leveraging technology, when possible, to make mobility easy.
Campaign chair Tom Tobin encourages that “the more we get up and get moving, the more we can come together and take back our health, showing the world that we can break down the barriers to independence when empowered with the right knowledge, tools, and desire.”
If the last 19 months were any indications of how a diminished physical, emotional, and social lifestyle can place a heavyweight on health and wellness. Therefore, now is the time we must drive a national campaign that gets Americans who are blind and visually impaired up and moving.
Join the Get Up and Get Moving Campaign Committee with special guests on July 17th at 7:00pm ET on ACB Media 1 Mainstream to be a part of the campaign launch to announce the first kick-off event planned for White Cane Day on October 15th to find out how you can get involved and support the campaign locally.