Burnt Orange Report

Re-Post: CF walk stuff

By Jim Dallas

I don't enjoy begging for money, particularly about non-political/personal issues.

(And especially since we're still in the midst of trying to raise money for John Kerry and the blogads advertisers).

However, I'd like to tell you about a cause that I am currently involved in that matters a lot to me.

As some of you may know (and perhaps some of you do not), my younger sister Madison has been living with cystic fibrosis for seven years, and generally there has been little to mention about it since she has been so blessed as to receive very good, cutting edge treatment -- much of which has stemmed from research funded in part by generous contributions from people like you to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease that makes breathing a major chore for those with the disease. CF causes life-threatening lung infections and the average survival age of those with the disease is the early 30s. Currently, there is no cure and the future of those with CF lies in the hands of people like you and me. By sponsoring me in the GREAT STRIDES campaign, together, we can make a real difference in the lives of those with CF.

Tremendous advances in the last decade have allowed my sister to live a pretty normal life, at least for the time being. Yet there still is no cure for CF, which means every day is still a struggle.

I've had a wonderful opportunity to spend a lot more time with Madison since I've moved back home, and I've learned two things about her. The first is that she's even more sweet than I remember. The second is that she's incredibly aggressive when victory depends on it. Pick a board game - any board game, from CandyLand to Monopoly to Chess - and she'll beat me because she's so determined.

I believe strongly that we can and will find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis - if we are determined.

If we work together to help the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation sponsor the wonderful and promising medical research that some of the best and brightest doctors in the country are working on. Every little bit helps improve the quality of life for people, like my sister, who are fighting cystic fibrosis.

That is why I've been a regular participant in the GREAT STRIDES Walk and why I am making a special commitment this year to raise $250. I believe that I can meet or even exceed this goal, if you help me by pitching in $10 or $20 today.

If you are not able to contribute but would like to show support, then I invite you to take part in the GREAT STRIDES Walk this year. It is held at over 550 sites nationally. I will be walking on Saturday, May 15 at Moody Gardens in Galveston.

Also, Monday, March 29 is CF night at Taco Cabana on 61st Street in Galveston. If you are in the Galveston area, please consider coming by between 5 and 9 pm for the event.

Thank you for your time,

Jim

P.S. Please note the URL I have given includes an "invitee" tag; because of it I won't necessarily know who made the contribution because the Great Strides server will mistakenly inform me that the contribution was made by "invitee" #3089, which happens to be my old high school debate teacher. Don't worry; the CFF foundation apparently knows what's going on, and the contribution (I believe) will be properly processed. It's just I will be behind a veil of ignorance as to who did what.

I feel rather bad about that, since I want to send out "thank yous" to all that have contributed. Unfortunately, I don't know who you are (the veil of ignorance thing again). I'd ask you to please note your e-mail in the comments thread so I can give credit where credit is due!

(The CF Foundation is a little new at this Internet thing).