My Great Strides Story
Jamie Martin
Fundraising for Northern Virginia Great Strides
Jamie Martin
Hi everyone!
After a long cold and windy winter, Spring has finally arrived!! I am sure everyone is ready for some warmer weather. Of course, you also know it is time to send out my annual request to support a very worthy cause. I am reaching out to you and asking you to support the annual Great Strides fundraiser to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis (CF). For those of you not familiar with CF, it is the most common killer of children and young adults in the United States today. For the past 33 years my family has participated in the Great Strides walk because a family friend had a daughter with CF. As you may remember, Colleen passed away 11 years ago while awaiting a double lung transplant. She was only 23 years old, but Colleen lived a life that made us all proud. We are doing the fundraising walk again this year in her memory, as well as for all those still bravely fighting the disease. When we started the walk, Colleen’s life expectancy was 19 years. Due to continuing medical advancements, many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond. In fact, the median life expectancy for someone born with CF is now into the 50s and 60s years old, and 60% of the people living with CF are adults!! During the last couple of years there have been huge breakthroughs in CF drug development and research with 40+ therapies in the drug development pipeline. Incredible progress is being made, but still no cure for everyone afflicted with the disease.
Just for a little background, the CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION (CFF) was established in 1955 to raise money for research to find a cure for CF and to improve the quality of life for the 40,000 children and adults with the disease in the US, and over 105,000 worldwide. Please note that over 84% of the dollars raised by the CFF are invested in CF science for research, patient advocacy, education and patient care, with 130 care centers nationwide. And virtually every approved CF drug available today was made possible with CFF support, developed as a result of an innovative business model called venture philanthropy. Over $2 billion will be spent on research and care between now and 2030.
This year’s walk is on Saturday, May 17th. If you don’t have other plans, please consider joining the 'Martin Family' team at Ida Lee Park, 60 Ida Lee Drive NW, Leesburg, VA 20176. Check-in is at 9:30am, the 5K walk starts at 10:30am, and there will be food and drinks afterwards. Festivities should end by around 1pm. To join our team just click on 'Register' at the top of the page.
Many of you have supported our efforts in prior years. This year we continue to need your help, as we get closer and closer to a cure for everyone. Last year our team raised almost $16K and we had over 100 sponsors. The walks in the Washington area alone last year raised over $670K. This year our family goal is to raise at least $15K. We hope to raise over $1M for the Metro DC area. It is our hope that the money raised will quickly lead to exciting scientific discoveries which will eliminate fatal CF lung infections forever.
If you would like to support our cause, I will be accepting your tax deductible donations through the end of May. Checks can be made payable to the CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION and the canceled check will serve as your receipt for tax purposes. If you are sending a check by mail, please send it to my home address at: 4809 Walney Knoll Court, Chantilly, VA 20151. I will also accept cash, but I don't have any official CF receipts to hand out for tax purposes.
Of course, it is also very easy to donate online. Just click on 'Donate' at the top of the page.
I know there are plenty of places to spend your hard earned money, but this is a great 4 star charity and it is good to know you are helping someone in need. And I am confident that our collective efforts will soon find a cure and honor the memory of Colleen’s life. We are adding better and more tomorrows for people with CF. Together let’s make CF stand for ‘Cure Found’!
As always, thank you for your consideration and support. God Bless!!
Jamie Martin
After a long cold and windy winter, Spring has finally arrived!! I am sure everyone is ready for some warmer weather. Of course, you also know it is time to send out my annual request to support a very worthy cause. I am reaching out to you and asking you to support the annual Great Strides fundraiser to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis (CF). For those of you not familiar with CF, it is the most common killer of children and young adults in the United States today. For the past 33 years my family has participated in the Great Strides walk because a family friend had a daughter with CF. As you may remember, Colleen passed away 11 years ago while awaiting a double lung transplant. She was only 23 years old, but Colleen lived a life that made us all proud. We are doing the fundraising walk again this year in her memory, as well as for all those still bravely fighting the disease. When we started the walk, Colleen’s life expectancy was 19 years. Due to continuing medical advancements, many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond. In fact, the median life expectancy for someone born with CF is now into the 50s and 60s years old, and 60% of the people living with CF are adults!! During the last couple of years there have been huge breakthroughs in CF drug development and research with 40+ therapies in the drug development pipeline. Incredible progress is being made, but still no cure for everyone afflicted with the disease.
Just for a little background, the CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION (CFF) was established in 1955 to raise money for research to find a cure for CF and to improve the quality of life for the 40,000 children and adults with the disease in the US, and over 105,000 worldwide. Please note that over 84% of the dollars raised by the CFF are invested in CF science for research, patient advocacy, education and patient care, with 130 care centers nationwide. And virtually every approved CF drug available today was made possible with CFF support, developed as a result of an innovative business model called venture philanthropy. Over $2 billion will be spent on research and care between now and 2030.
This year’s walk is on Saturday, May 17th. If you don’t have other plans, please consider joining the 'Martin Family' team at Ida Lee Park, 60 Ida Lee Drive NW, Leesburg, VA 20176. Check-in is at 9:30am, the 5K walk starts at 10:30am, and there will be food and drinks afterwards. Festivities should end by around 1pm. To join our team just click on 'Register' at the top of the page.
Many of you have supported our efforts in prior years. This year we continue to need your help, as we get closer and closer to a cure for everyone. Last year our team raised almost $16K and we had over 100 sponsors. The walks in the Washington area alone last year raised over $670K. This year our family goal is to raise at least $15K. We hope to raise over $1M for the Metro DC area. It is our hope that the money raised will quickly lead to exciting scientific discoveries which will eliminate fatal CF lung infections forever.
If you would like to support our cause, I will be accepting your tax deductible donations through the end of May. Checks can be made payable to the CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION and the canceled check will serve as your receipt for tax purposes. If you are sending a check by mail, please send it to my home address at: 4809 Walney Knoll Court, Chantilly, VA 20151. I will also accept cash, but I don't have any official CF receipts to hand out for tax purposes.
Of course, it is also very easy to donate online. Just click on 'Donate' at the top of the page.
I know there are plenty of places to spend your hard earned money, but this is a great 4 star charity and it is good to know you are helping someone in need. And I am confident that our collective efforts will soon find a cure and honor the memory of Colleen’s life. We are adding better and more tomorrows for people with CF. Together let’s make CF stand for ‘Cure Found’!
As always, thank you for your consideration and support. God Bless!!
Jamie Martin
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