(PRESS RELEASE) COLUMBIA, MD – The Foundation Fighting Blindness, the world’s leading organization committed to driving the research for treatments and cures for blinding diseases, announces today being named beneficiary for the upcoming iDox Rocks “Fight Blindness” concert being held on Friday, November 3, 2023, at 8 p.m. PT during the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual conference. The special concert will be held at the 715 Harrison located at 715 Harrison Street in San Francisco, California.
iDox Rocks was formed as “ARVO Rocks” over two decades ago by John Sheppard, MD, Thomas John, MD, and Rick Foulkes, MD, all cornea specialists, when they began performing at the ARVO annual conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The band is comprised of ocular surgeons, a space engineer, a pediatrician, an immunologist, an eye bank director, two Italians, an investment banker, a health care analyst and an air traffic control programmer.
“The iDox have enjoyed playing on stage and raising money for charity foundations in seven different cities,” says Dr. John Sheppard, president at Virginia Eye Consultants. “Four of us have been performing rock & roll together for 48 years, since college.”
There is no entry fee for the concert. Attendees are asked to show their AAO conference badge for entry. Throughout the event, donations to support the Foundation Fighting Blindness in the advancement of retinal disease research can be made by scanning the QR codes displayed on signage throughout the venue.
“Drs. Sheppard and Majmudar have been friends for years, and I continue to be amazed by their talent, not only as world-class clinicians and surgeons but also as musicians,” says Jason Menzo, chief executive officer at the Foundation Fighting Blindness. “I am honored by their commitment and the support of all the donors and sponsors of our mission.”
Direct donations to the Foundation Fighting Blindness can be made at Donate.FightingBlindness.org/AAO.