Saker ShopRites Contributions to The Vision of Children Foundation Reach Nearly $1 Million

SAN DIEGO, CA (March 7, 2013)—In the sixth year of partnership, The Vision of Children Foundation is proud to announce it has received a total of $975,000 from New Jersey’s Saker ShopRites grocery stores through its community outreach program. For one month each year, the cashiers at all 29 Saker ShopRite stores ask customers if they would like to donate to The Vision of Children at the point of purchase and the company matches what is raised at the registers. Each store also has the ability to get creative to raise even more money. These additional efforts have included carnivals in their parking lots (complete with pie throwing contests), associates participating in “Mud Runs,” and bake sales.
 
Co-Founder and Chairman of The Vision of Children, Sam Hardage, can’t say enough about what this tremendous support has meant to the Foundation over the years, “The Sakers have many organizations they support, so to have had such incredible success with this program in each of their stores speaks not only to their generosity, but also to what a top quality staff they have on board.” Mr. Hardage went on to say, “It is only through support from organizations like this that our mission of curing hereditary childhood blindness and vision disorders will be fulfilled.”
 
Director of Development & Communications, Megan Powers, visited each of the “Top 10” stores to recognize their support and make sure the General Managers and staff involved understand what a difference they are making in the lives of children who hope to see more clearly due to the ground-breaking research being conducted by The Vision of Children Foundation. “It was an honor to visit the stores and meet so many of the employees in person because we would not have had the success we’ve had without their continuing support,” stated Ms. Powers.
 
In 2007 Richard and Laura Saker were presented with the “Vision Heroes” award by Andrea Bocelli at a Vision of Children benefit. Due to their continued efforts they were recently presented with the “Sustaining Vision Heroes” award. With continued support from Saker ShopRites and other corporate partners, The Vision of Children Foundation will have the ability to continue funding its very important research for vision disorders such as Ocular Albinism & Blue Cone Monochromacy (BCM), and other genetically caused vision disorders. 
 
The Vision of Children looks forward to more success as we partner-up again in June of 2013 for the seventh annual Vision of Children month at the Saker ShopRite stores.
 
For further information about partnering with The Vision of Children or to make a donation, visit their Web site: www.visionofchildren.org.
 
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About The Vision of Children Foundation (VOC)
VOC is a non-profit charity established in 1991 in San Diego, CA. The VOC mission is to find a cure for hereditary blindness, and to improve the quality of life for visually impaired children and their families. In support of their mission, VOC is working toward eradicating hereditary childhood blindness and  vision disorders through scientific research. Additionally, VOC provides a support network to families whose children have been diagnosed with hereditary vision disorders and provide low vision equipment to schools.
 
About Saker ShopRites, Inc.
Beginning with a small “mom and pop” store which opened in 1916 in Freehold, New Jersey, the Saker family has operated grocery stores for almost 100 years. From opening their first supermarket in 1956, to the latest generation of stores, Saker ShopRites, Inc. has been an industry leader in creating World Class shopping experiences. Saker ShopRites owns and operates 29 supermarkets in central New Jersey, including Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex, Somerset, and Mercer Counties. The World Class shopping experience is created through a combination of modern stores and a high level of service provided by their associates. In each interaction, their objective is to exceed customer expectations. Visit their Web site for a list of locations: http://www.shoprite.com/member_saker/.
 

Contact Information

Megan Powers

Director of Development & Communications

The Vision of Children Foundation

(1) 858-314-7917

mpowers@visionofchildren.org