What a vision: tea and sight firms partner


MILLERTON — Prevent Blindness Tri-State has paired with Harney and Sons Fine Teas to market a tea that will not only please its drinkers but will also raise money for the health organization. The two will celebrate their partnership Friday, May 11, during a "Sip for Sight" event at the Harney Tea Factory from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Celebration Citron Green Tea promises to titillate the palate while striving for better sight.

"This is a fundraiser, but it’s also to let people know of this organization that’s been around for 100 years," said company marketing specialist Francine Harcourt Caplan. "We really want to spread the good word about this organization."

Prevent Blindness Tri-State is an affiliate of Prevent Blindness America, a group dedicated to saving sight and preventing vision loss through vision screening services, information and education programs, and advocacy.

"People just aren’t aware enough about eye health. It’s low on the radar screen, but 50 percent of all eye illnesses could be treated if you are aware of them," said Kathryn Garre-Ayars, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness Tri-State.

Prevent Blindness provides not only vision screenings, but "eye exams, glasses and other vision services for low-income children to help prevent permanent vision loss and learning difficulties," according to its literature.

It also "provides information, education, screening, referral and follow-up for low-income, older adults and seniors to prevent permanent vision loss."

"The eye is probably the most overlooked of all our senses," Garrre-Ayars said. "The potential for eye disease in children and adults is huge and we just don’t do enough to prevent it."

"It really is very important," Caplan said. "And when you lose your sight, you’re losing a quality of life."

The organization’s mission works in unison with the purpose of Harney’s green tea, which is a wellness tea. Studies have shown that anti-oxidants — carotenoids and falvanoids found in green tea — can delay the onset of eye disease.

"John Harney really gets it. He understands about eye health, which makes this a great collaboration," Caplan said.

Prevent Blindness, which helped design the label on the tea canister, will receive 20 percent of all sales of the Celebration Citron Green Tea.

The fundraiser itself will also help garner more money for the health organization. Tickets are $25 per person or $50 for patron tickets. Those who attend the event, which is to be hosted by master tea blender John Harney, will get to participate in a silent auction and tour of the Harney Tea Factory.

"We’ve been very fortunate to receive the kind of support that we’ve received," Garre-Ayars said. "The community has been so generous in donating silent auction items. We wanted this to be a holistic approach."

The Harney Tea Factory is located on Route 22, just a half-mile south of the traffic light at routes 22 and 44 in Millerton.

"It’s going to be a fun event. You can have a vision screening. It’s really a way for us to get to know the community and for the community to get to know us," Caplan said.

For more information on Prevent Blindness, call 1-800-850-2020 or log onto www.preventblindesstristate.org.


 

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