Great Strides #3

Today was our third year participating in Great Strides, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's annual fund-raising walk. Although the location had changed, the sunshine that greets us every year was still present. And our faithful few were, well, a faithful fewer.

I'm really torn with my participation. While I feel like it's the right thing I need to do, even like I should be helping the cause, convincing others is becoming more difficult. Perhaps it's the economy, perhaps I'm not annoying enough, but this year has been the worst for getting people involved. Not just walking with us, but participating by donating to our cause and asking their friends and family to do the same.

Let's be real. Times are tough. Tell me about it. But let me say this: We (the CF community) are so close to a cure. Even improving treatment is coming a long way. Earlier this year, a new inhaled antibiotic, Cayston, was approved for treating infections for those with CF. Cayston is used to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterial infection Samuel has had a few times. To treat this previously, we've administered another inhaled antibiotic, which takes 30-40 minutes to administer. Cayston takes about 5 minutes. You don't have to know Samuel to understanding that keeping a mask on the face of a 2 year old boy, while sitting still, without a binky, twice a day, is about as easy as giving a cat a bath. If you supported TeamSamuel in the past, know that this approval was made possible by your generosity. That's pretty exciting! We thank you!

While I know many followers of CF Mommee have Great Strides teams of their own, there may be a few who don't have a team to donate to. Maybe I've been too quite or you let it slip your mind. No matter the situation, it's not too late to contribute. In fact, we have until the end of the calendar year for it to credit this year's walk. Just click on the link below to be taken to my Great Strides page. And share this link with your friends. If you would like for me to write an invitation to contribute to TeamSamuel, I'll be happy to do so!

We are running late

The time is quickly approaching. It's almost time for Great Strides 2009 and we have done little to fund raise. In fact, we've done one video and that's about it. There is a concert planned on the east coast next month and I'm sure there will be a nice response. Thanks Lori!

Some ideas I'm having for fundraising this year to reach our $5,000 goal:

1. We have quite a collection of autographed items: books signed by Hillary Clinton, a John Legend autographed poster, a James Patterson signed book, those are just the things I know of right now. Maybe these items will appear of eBay and be sent to the highest bidder.

2. NYPD fundraising worked well last year. We can do that again. Little coordination on my part (always a plus).

3. Postcard mailing. More junk mail? Nothing with pics of Samuel is junk. :)

4. ummm.... That's all I can think of right now. Any other ideas? Please leave me a comment with your fabulous ideas!