 Welcome to cfstjoe.com!
Welcome to cfsjoe.com, a site designed to serve as a clearinghouse
of information regarding cystic fibrosis and fund-raising efforts
to fight it in the St. Joseph, Michigan area. For those not
familiar with our story, we'll outline it briefly here.
Hannah's Story
We found out our daughter,
Hannah, had cystic fibrosis in the fall of 2001. Prior to that,
her condition had been diagnosed as asthma. We knew very little
about the disease, and were obviously devastated after learning its
history. We immediately had our other daughter, Olivia,
checked and were relieved to find out that she did not have
the disease. Hannah and Olivia are now 14 and 11, respectively,
and are both leading very active lives. For more information about cystic fibrosis, check out the CF Info page.
We then learned of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, whose mission since its inception in 1955 has been to assure the development of the means to cure and control cystic fibrosis and to improve the quality of life for those with the disease. The CF Foundation remains one of the top voluntary health organizations in the country at efficiently using its funds raised to invest in medical and research programs. SmartMoney magazine has cited the CF Foundation as a charity that "won't waste your money."
The CF Foundation's largest annual fund-raising event is the Great Strides Walk, which raises millions of dollars for CF research and care programs each year. The event had been held
in St. Joseph in 2001 with limited success. In conjunction with
the western Michigan chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, our family, along with another family affected by cystic fibrosis, set about making the 2002 Great Strides event
one that all could be proud of. Vicki and the co-chairing family worked
tirelessly planning the event and soliciting support from businesses
and the city of St. Joseph. Dave provided support on the computer
with database, mailing, and graphic projects. They continued their work in this regard through the completion of the 2005 walk. Dave and Vicki took over as sole chairs of the St. Joseph Great Strides Walk beginning in 2006, with the original co-chairing family having moved on to other projects. As noted on our
Great Strides page, the event
has been a tremendous success for all eight years we've been involved, far exceeding anyone's expectations (except
our own). That success is due in no small part
to those of you reading this page today, and we thank you from
the bottom of our hearts!
In 2002, Dave's sister Tina started her own project to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation through her business, The Chocolate Garden. The "Sixty Five Roses Garden Party" became a tremendously popular annual event since its inception that first year. Billed as an "afternoon soirée to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation" the Garden Party featured great food, wine, music, a silent auction, and of course, Tina's fabulous truffles. Tina is taking a break from the extensive time demands of the Garden Party, but is continuing in her efforts to raise money to fight cystic fibrosis. She has just introduced her biggest box of truffles yet, the Wine & Roses Assortment. 10% of every one of these 2¼ lb boxes is contributed directly to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation! In addition, you can donate directly to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at any time from her website by clicking here.
This site has begun as a way for our family to get the
word out about cystic fibrosis and the ways people in the area
can help. As evidenced by its name, cfstjoe.com, it is our hope
that others in the St. Joseph area will in time contribute to
the site's development and consider it their own. Please feel
free to contact us at any time with suggestions for the site,
for emotional support, or to contribute financially to the fight
to find a cure for CF. Together, we will beat this thing, and
Hannah, as well as others affected with CF, will grow up
to live long, happy, productive lives. Help us raise Bucks to Fight CF!
We thank you for your support,
   
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