Great Strides

Great Strides is an annual fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF). It is a 10K walk held at the Vilas Zoo and Arboretum. This is our second year participating. Colleen is a team leader for the team named Friends of Feldy. This year our team consisted of Colleen, Melissa Kingsley, Amanda Haynes, and Sheena Kaupilla. (Sheena had to work the day of the walk but raised a lot of money!) Jim wasn't feeling well and wasn't able to participate. Our team raised close to $1,000 and the entire event raised over $80,000 to help find a cure and treatments for CF!! It was the most funds raised in Madison yet.

The walk was a lot of fun too: The UW Marching Band was there and they played for us as we started out, and each water station had several band members playing music! At the end as we alked over the final bridge, the band was there to celebrate with us!!

As CF is an orphan disease, drug companies are not willing to do research for treatments. The CFF funds research, and when a new treatment is discovered, the drug companies will then manufacture and sell it. Two of the treatments that Jim uses were developed by this method, so we are very grateful for the CFF and their research.

Great Strides events are held all over the country every year. We can also raise funds throughout the year and apply them to the Friends of Feldy Great Strides team. Future events in Madison are:

July 9th - CFF Night at Mallards Game (tickets are $6 and $3 of that is donated to the CFF. )

September 15 KEG & CORK: TOAST TO A CURE

Friday, November 10 BREATH OF LIFE GALA

Saturday, January 27, 2007 BOWL FOR BREATH

You can check out our Great Strides webpage at http://www.cff.org/great_strides/ColleenFeldhausen! NOTE: If link looks broken, cut and paste ENTIRE link into address bar. If you are presented with a "Find A Walker" page, enter Colleen's first and last name and click on "Find Walker." Then click "View Walker" in the results list to go to "Colleen Feldhausen's GREAT STRIDES Home Page."