Great Strides hits virtual trail in fundraiser to beat Cystic Fibrosis

Great Strides hits virtual trail in fundraiser to beat Cystic Fibrosis
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Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Great Strides walks have gone virtual in 2021, forcing a halt to bigger gatherings at local county events, but that hasn’t stopped the event from moving forward. This year’s walk will be of the virtual variety and will take place May 15.

                        

While COVID-19 has slowed many things throughout the past year, one thing it hasn’t slowed down is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s drive to find a cure.

People are being asked to put foot on pavement to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation this year through Great Strides; only they won’t officially be gathering together to do so.

For the second-straight year, the CF Great Strides fundraising walks were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns in order to eliminate large gatherings. However, that hasn’t stopped the various CF Foundation chapters around the nation from continuing their effort to raise funds for what they hope will soon be a cure for CF.

According to Leslie Schurman, development director of the CFF Northern Ohio Chapter, in lieu of an actual walk, they are inviting everyone with a passion for helping others to join in the CFF fundraising project by joining the virtual walk. The virtual walk will officially take place Saturday, May 15 at 10 a.m., but those wishing to help can do their walk at any time between now and then.

“We are doing a virtual walk via Facebook Live, so everyone can join this year from wherever they are and get involved in the fundraising efforts,” Schurman said.

Schurman said the May 15 virtual walk will begin with some updates as to what CFF is currently doing to find a cure and will include several speakers who will share their stories. They will then invite everyone listening to go walk wherever they are comfortable, with friends and family in smaller groups or even on their own.

“It’s not really the same thing as a Great Strides event, but it has the same purpose,” Schurman said of the virtual walk.

Schurman said the fundraising portion can be anything from donating, to canvasing the neighborhood and seeking donations, to doing online Facebook fundraising campaigns or letter-writing campaigns seeking donations.

Schurman said the lack of Great Strides events has impacted the CFF efforts, creating a drop in funds being raised, but she said for the most part, CFF continues to see people raising funds and donating to the cause, which has enabled scientists to work through the pandemic to continue to pursue both treatments and cures for CF.

“We continue to be full steam ahead in our search for a cure,” Schurman said.

The strides being made on finding a cure have taken a three-prong approach under the theme, “A Path to a Cure.” Schurman said $500 million has been committed to a strategy that focuses on three roads to the cure of CF.

The three strategies include repairing, restoring and replacing. That includes repairing the broken CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) protein, restoring the CFTR protein where none exists and replacing the underlying mutation that is ultimately the root cause of CF.

“It isn’t going to be easy, but we will continue to work until we can celebrate the day the cure is finally found,” Schurman said. “With CF not being a one-size-fits-all disease because each individual case is so different, they are going to find a lot of different avenues this path will take, but ultimately, we will celebrate the day we cure CF.”

She added there also is a lot of focus put on the bacterial side of CF because many CF patients harbor bacteria in their lungs.

The ultimate goal is to help those stricken with CF have better, more productive lives for as long as possible. Not long ago it was rare to see someone stricken with CF live to see their 20th birthday. Today, thanks to science and medicine, the average age of those with CF is 44 years old, and that number continues to climb as new medications come out annually.

Schurman said she has been with the organization six years, and during that span she has seen three major drugs come into the market that have improved the quality of life and length of life expectancy for those with CF. She said one of the most impressive points of the CFF organization is when funds are raised, every penny of those funds are put toward the fight to find a cure.

“We put our money where we say we are, and we have seen great progress because of that,” Schurman said. “The progress is incredible. Seeing that dramatic life-expectancy soar is heart-warming and inspiring, and it is a really cool story in the world of medicine and science.”

If someone wants to get involved with the Great Strides virtual walk, they can do so by logging on to www.greatstrides.cff.org, or if someone wants to make a donation directly to the organization, they can do so by visiting the chapter website at www.cff.org/northernoh.

Schurman said as a reminder that every step taken in the name of fundraising for CF is a step taken toward finding a cure.


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