Casey's story

Casey lives with a degenerative eye condition that affects both her retinas, leaving her without central vision and relying solely on her peripheral vision to navigate safely. Casey was first connected to Vision Australia once she moved to Melbourne in 2018 and has been a Volunteer Puppy Carer with Seeing Eye Dogs for eight years. With her Seeing Eye Dog, Zeeba, by her side, Casey is able to embrace her passions for fitness and giving back to her community.  

“I was the first vision-impaired Puppy Carer to receive one of my puppies as my Seeing Eye Dog. This doesn’t happen very often. It was a proud moment working with the Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dogs team to get Zeeba into her harness,” Casey says.  

A big part of Casey’s life is the ability to be outdoors and active, while giving back to her community. Thanks to the ongoing support of Vision Australia, Casey is able to live life to the fullest.  

“I’ve competed in triathlons, Spartans, and even had the honour of representing Australia in competitions. Helping others is something I’m really passionate about, and over time I’ve discovered I have a bit of a knack for connecting people and building community,” Casey explains. 

This year, Casey is looking forward to kicking off the festive year by taking part in Vision Australia’s Santa Fun Run once again, and reflects on the importance of representation at such events: “The people make the event and if you are apprehensive about fitness pressures, please don’t be! The next generation needs us to be great role models and spending some time out in the sun is fun and it really gets the Christmas spirit going.”  

Every dollar raised from Santa Fun Run ensures Vision Australia can support children who are blind or have low vision to grow and develop into confident and inspiring adults just like Casey. You can help make spirits bright and transform young lives this Christmas with a donation to Santa Fun Run.