“Even though I can't see what’s happening on the field when I’m sitting in the crowd I still get that same feeling of excitement, and just being in that atmosphere is one of my favourite things.” - Mark.

While the word football can mean many different things to many different people, for Mark Smith it means one thing – fun. With a list of teams from home and abroad that he follows religiously, 13 year-old Mark can’t get enough football no matter the code.

Since the age of nine, Mark has been legally blind due to a tumour on his optic nerve caused by a form of cancer known as medulloblastoma, and although he can no longer see his favourite players in action, Mark’s enthusiasm for sport, and his support of all things football, has not been dampened. 

The team at Vision Australia have helped Mark to regain his confidence and have given him and his family the tools to ensure that he can do anything he sets his mind to. He went to the tryouts for his school rugby and soccer teams, where he is now team manager for both, he’s played a bit of the Paralympic sport of goalball and he is now looking to join the NSW blind soccer program.

Vision Australia want to make Christmas 4x Brighter for kids like Mark who are blind or have low vision.

Thanks to the generous donations of the Vision Australian community, in the lead up to and during Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve, every dollar raised will be matched to have 4 times the impact. To donate or to find out more information, click here.