Bethany Howell

There are approximately 30,000 Americans living with cystic fibrosis. They are moms, dads, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, friends and co-workers who struggle every day just to breathe. I walk for them and hope you will support me in my efforts.

Real progress has been made in the search for a cure, but the lives of people with CF are still cut far too short. There still is no cure for this devastating disease. By walking today, I am helping add tomorrows to the lives of people living with cystic fibrosis. Will you join me? Support me by making a donation to my Great Strides fundraising campaign today!

Great Strides is a fun, family-friendly event that raises awareness and support for people with CF and their families.

Please support me!

Help me reach my fundraising goal by donating to my Great Strides fundraising campaign. Your gift will help add tomorrows to the lives of people with cystic fibrosis by supporting life-saving research and medical progress. Your gift is 100-percent tax deductible.

Top Ten Reasons to Support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

1.The Foundation is adding tomorrows. When the Foundation was established, children born with cystic fibrosis were not expected to live long enough to attend elementary school. Today, thanks to research and care supported by the Foundation, many people with CF are living into their 30s, 40s and beyond.

2. The Foundation is leading the quest for new treatments and a cure. The Foundation has raised and committed hundreds of millions of dollars to help develop CF drugs and therapies. Virtually every approved CF drug available today was made possible because of Foundation support, and research to find a cure is more promising than ever before.

3. The Foundation is making history. Foundation-backed researchers discovered the defective gene that causes CF in 1989. In 2012, the FDA approved the first drug to treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for a small segment of the CF population. This marks a historic breakthrough for the entire CF community, and the science behind the drug has opened exciting new doors to research and development that may eventually lead to a cure for all people living with CF.

4. The Foundation is efficient. The Foundation is an accredited charity of the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, meeting all of its Standards for Charitable Accountability. We take great pride in being one of the most efficient and effective organizations of our kind, and are careful stewards of every dollar raised in support of our mission.

5. The Foundation is making a difference. Today, approximately half of all people with CF are age 18 or older, thanks to wise investments made by the Foundation in research and comprehensive care.

6. The Foundation is strategic. The Foundation’s unique approach to drug discovery has yielded a “pipeline” of potential therapies that attack the disease from every angle. We support a broad range of research efforts, which have led to potential therapies that combat the symptoms of CF as well as those that address the root cause of the disease.

7. The Foundation is taking action. Working with a network of volunteers across the country, the Foundation provides people with CF a voice in Congress and among policymakers and payers across the U.S.

8. The Foundation is forward-thinking. It is a proven leader in the field of rare disease research, which has historically been underfunded by the government and pharmaceutical industry. The Foundation is recognized globally for its unprecedented and tenacious efforts in combatting this rare disease.

9. The Foundation is innovative. The Foundation’s unique business model has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health and by publications such as Forbes, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Business Week.

10. The Foundation is far reaching. The Foundation has 70 chapters throughout the country a nationwide network of more than 120 CF care centers, which diagnose and treat nearly all CF patients in the U.S.