8th Grader Evie Baxter Recognized for her Activism Focused on Vision Loss
8th grader Evie Baxter is an ambassador for Fighting Blindness, an Irish charity organization that works to raise awareness about various vision loss disorders. Evie and her mother, Victoria Smurfit, have been invited to spearhead the organization's Christmas Campaign through radio and TV interviews. Evie and her mom will soon travel to Ireland for an extensive slate of media appearances to help increase awareness of vision disorders and help raise funds for vision research. Last year, Evie spoke in London at a large Royal Institute for the Blind gala (an organization championed by Queen Elizabeth II), helping to raise $1.6 million for research (pictured).
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Evie's personal experiences with vision loss have helped her develop a powerful voice in the fight to promote vision loss education and fundraising. Edie lives with Stargardt macular degeneration, a progressive vision loss disorder that afflicts approximately 8 in 10,000 individuals.
Evie shares her motivation for working with Fighting Blindness, "I want to let children and teens with vision disorders know that they don't need to struggle, alone and in the dark, with their condition. I want to help them understand that there is hope and that there are people out there who can help. I want to inspire them to move forward as well as help raise money to find treatments."
When asked about New Roads, Evie said, "It's incredible to be in a place that works hard to provide the suppot that I need. Kids here understand that I'm not a cookie cutter person. They may be facing struggles too - everyone here has their own story. I'm thankful to New Roads - and to my amazing mom, dad, siblings, best friend Violet and my dogs."
New Roads School is a college preparatory K-12 private independent school in Santa Monica, CA, serving over 514 elementary school, middle school and high school children from the greater Los Angeles area. New Roads School provides an inspired educational program from which an authentically diverse student population, mirroring the rich diversity of Los Angeles, develops a personal dedication to learning, a respect for independent thinking, and an expanding curiosity about the world and its people.
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS New Roads School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.