CF Foundation kicks off fundraiser at open house

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Mahoning and Trumbull counties is inviting the public to an open house meeting to kick off the foundation’s largest fundraising event, the Great Strides walk program.

The open house has been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Jan. 26 at Austintown Public Library, 600 Raccoon Road, Austintown. Refreshments will be served and ideas on fighting CF will be shared.

To register for the event or to learn more about the Great Strides walk, contact Erica Matisz at the foundation by calling 800-368-2150, or e-mail ematisz@cff.org.

The Foundation was started in 1955 by a group of parents whose children were born with cystic fibrosis. Its efforts to improve the length and quality of patients’ lives have earned the CF Foundation the reputation as a leader among voluntary health organizations in the United States.

Nearly 90 cents of every dollar raised by the Foundation goes to CF research and treatment programs.

CF is a complex genetic disease that affects about 30,000 children and adults in the U.S. Due to the faulty transport of sodium and chloride within cells lining organs such as lungs and pancreas, the body produces a thick mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections. It also obstructs the pancreas, preventing enzymes from reaching the intestines to help break down and digest food.

CF was once considered exclusively a childhood disease, and children born with CF rarely lived long enough to attend elementary school. Today, thanks in part to the Foundation’s funding of patient care and medical research programs, the median age of survival increased to more than 37 years.

By joining the Great Strides walk, the public will help the Foundation take one step closer to finding a cure for CF. The public also can raise money for CF research for free by searching the Web at GoodSearch.com. Every Internet search equals a penny raised for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.