RSVF News and Updates

Run With a Vision 5k and 10k

Written by: Randall Crosby
Date: October 19, 2020

My name is Randall Crosby. I will be hosting the First Annual Run With a Vision 5K & 10K to bring awareness and, hopefully, some donations to Randolph Sheppard Vendors of Florida (RSVF).

Randall and William McBroom pic on magazine Small Market Meetings I became legally blind when I was 27 years old from a genetic condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). I had been working at Marriott Hotels for eight years prior to the diagnosis, but I had to resign, since I found I couldn’t do my job well enough as a person who is vision impaired. I learned about the Division of Blind Services' Bureau of Business Enterprise program (BBE) a year and a half later. I completed the required training and became a licensed operator in 1990.

I’ve had a long career with both success and failure along the way. The failures made me into the successful business owner that I am today. We cannot have success without enduring failure and struggle from time to time. The struggles make us appreciate the success and good times that much more. Unfortunately, however, COVID-19 has left many in my field in a state of emergency.

As our industry deals with COVID-19 and it’s impact on our businesses, I am troubled to say that many, once thriving, blind business owners are hurting. Many of the operators in my field who operate food service locations for the state of Florida have been closed or partially closed for the last six months.

I became the Director of Mentoring and Training for RSVF a few months ago. I want to kickstart our fundraising efforts by hosting the First Annual Run With a Vision 5K & 10K. I invite you to run, walk, or roll (bicycles and wheelchairs are welcome) a 5K or 10K distance on November 21, 2020. Due to COVID-19 and restrictions on large gatherings, I will be running this 10k solo in my area. However, I will be posting updates on my Facebook page. I encourage you to join me in your own neighborhood or wherever you like to run. I’ll be running the 10K distance at 8 a.m. EST that morning.

Funds raised will go toward helping RSVF to achieve its goals of helping our BBE vendors who have been impacted by the pandemic, have funds available for any future disasters such as hurricanes, and provide scholarships to aspiring entrepreneurs at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind.

We thank you for any donations you can make to this cause. Please follow my run by liking the RSVF's Facebook page as well as my Facebook page. To make a donation, please follow the link below to our donation page.

Together, we will Run With A Vision!

Make a Donation

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