Malca & Jay Marin: Spotlight on Our Founders
When Jay and Malca Marin’s son was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a symptom of Usher syndrome, an inherited disease that affects both sight and hearing, they looked south of the border. There, a charity dedicated to understanding the causes of vision loss was funding critical research. They decided they needed to bring sight-saving research to Canada as well to fund researchers working to understand, preserve and restore vision.
This determination led them to form the Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation, which would later become Fighting Blindness Canada (FBC), in 1974.
In the 50 years since, Malca and Jay’s legacy has resulted in more than 280 grants awarded, 220+ research projects, and 842 scientific discoveries. FBC has also funded more than $45M in education and research in that time.
Their son Lorne said, “The true beginning was on the evening of my diagnosis. We were all in shock and I was now officially legally blind. My parents couldn’t sit back and do nothing. My parents had to build what is now Fighting Blindness Canada from the ground up. I’m very proud of the work they did, and the commitment they made over the years to me and to all individuals dealing with vision loss.”
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