Debra Lewendon

Hello friends and family!  It may be winter but our minds are on Spring and the Great Strides Walk coming up on May 18, 2024 at the Mohawk River Park and Pool, 71 Schermerhorn Road, Cohoes, NY.

Our CF Warrior is now 9 years old (I know, crazy right?) and in Third Grade.   This year, Chase has decided to expand his athletic and intellectual horizons by joining the Clifton Park Recreational Basketball League and by teaching himself Japanese!!  He has taken quite an interest in the Japanese culture, loves eating sushi and hopes to travel to Japan when he is older.  He is again playing travel baseball this summer so he staying active all year long!  During the winter holidays, Chase and his older sister, Sophia, made  bookmarks and sold them at craft fairs, with the intention of donating one-half of their earnings to CF.  I am one proud Gigi. 

This will be our 8th year fielding our Chase for a Cure Great Strides team.  As many of you know, I am very involved with our local CF Chapter, giving my time when I can and supporting the mission all year round.  Great Strides is the Foundation's largest fundraiser of the year and the one I devote most of my time to, although I am also our Chapter's Grampion Chair as well.  (That's another post :)   Great Strides and the money it raises for research , programs like COMPASS, which provides assistance to people and their families living with CF such as health insurance issues, legal issues and help finding ways to pay for groundbreaking medications such as Trikafta, and funding Care Centers all across the country where both children and adults with cystic fibrosis receive concentrated medical care from professionals who are highly trained in care of CF patients.

Your donations, and donations received from so many other supporters like you, allows the CF Foundation to continue to fund breakthrough research like CRISPR, which was recently approved by the FDA to treat people with the genetic disease of sickle cell.  Continued research into using this groundbreaking technology which works by removing a portion of the DNA strand which contains the genetic defect.  I have hope that this amazing and groundbreaking technology to potentially treat CF cannot be far behind!  BUT the  Foundation cannot continue this work without the continuous support of people like us.

There are many, many people affected by CF who do not benefit from the medications that have been introduced because they have rare genetic mutations that cause their CF so research must continue in order to help these people move forward also.

Chase is one of approximately 30,000 Americans living with cystic fibrosis. They are moms, dads, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, grandchildren, friends and co-workers who struggle every day just to breathe. I walk for him and others affected by CF, as well as those in our CF family who came before us and were not as lucky to live in such a hopeful and exciting time where research is moving closer and closer towards what we believe will be a CURE.  Chase joins me in hoping that you will support our team, CHASE FOR A CURE, in our efforts by making a donation to our Great Strides fundraising campaign.

 I again ask that you please consider joining our Team and starting your own fundraising campaign.  We would love to have others join us in our support of the mission and to have a fun day and get out and get some exercise with a beautiful walk in the woods in the spring.  If you prefer, we will gratefully accept a donation, in any amount, to further our cause that one day CF will stand for CURE FOUND.

With love and appreciation,

Debbie and Chase

Your gift is 100-percent tax deductible.