A charity dedicated to helping impoverished people avoid blindness is returning to YVR this Sunday with their annual national fundraiser - Plane Pull for Sight.
This will be the ninth year that Orbis Canada – which has a goal to fight against vision loss and raise awareness for avoidable blindness – has hosted the fundraiser in Vancouver.
Teams of five to 20 people will compete to pull a 65-ton FedEx 757 cargo plane along a 20 feet course. To participate in this tug-of-war challenge, teams are required to fundraise a minimum of $2000.
“The money raised from this event will go towards supporting ophthalmology training programs and childhood blindness prevention and treatment,” said Dr. Simon Holland, Orbis volunteer faculty and ophthalmologist at the pacific laser eye centre.
With the support of its national sponsor, FedEx, Orbis Canada has raised more than $1 million in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal since its first fundraising event in 2009.
“The intended goal is to raise around $35,000 in Vancouver this year, but also to raise awareness for avoidable blindness,” added Holland.
The plane pull is a symbol of the Orbis Flying Eye hospital, which is a state-of-the-art teaching facility equipped with a fully functioning operating room, classroom and recovery room; all on a MD-10 aircraft.
The fundraiser will take place at the FedEx ramp YVR this Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Along will the plane pull, there will also be other activities such as a giant obstacle course, a nine-hole mini-putt golf course, bouncy castles, painting and even a plane pull for kids.
To participate in the challenge, register online at Orbiscan.Akaraisin.com/Common/Event/Home.aspx?seid=15971&mid=8.
