Taking steps toward a cure
Published: May 23, 2005
Despite the dreary weather, more than 200 walkers turned out for the 10th annual Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Great Strides Walk yesterday, raising more than $60,000 for research.
Wearing team shirts and caps, some pushing strollers, others riding bikes, the participants took to the streets for the 6-mile walk that kicked off at noon.
The afternoon began at the Marlborough Fish and Game Club off Elm Street and finished there with a barbecue, music and vendor booths, all of whom donated to yesterday’s event.
Gail Griffin-Ragan, the event coordinator, has twin 15-year-old sons with cystic fibrosis, and her 8-year-old nephew also has the genetic disease.
Her family helps run the event each year and also walks to raise money for their team, Double Trouble Plus One.
The event has pulled in $450,000 over the past 10 years, she said.
The Marlborough mother of eight said she hopes to see a cure for the disease, which leads to lung infections and impairs digestion, by the time her twins are in college.
“It raises research money,” Griffin-Ragan said of the walk. “It’s all about the money. If we don’t get the funding, we can’t get the answer.”
Her sister, Carol Gough of Marlborough, who has an 8-year-old son with cystic fibrosis, said she hopes the event will continue to gain support.
“It’s just amazing to me,” Gough said of the walkers. “It’s just inspiring, every year to have such great people come and support us and their families. It’s just a great day.”
One group of walkers wore matching “Kellie’s Crew” T-shirts to represent their team and support Kelly Hunt, who is living with the disease. The 24-year-old Marlborough resident said there’s more awareness about the disease today than when she was growing up.
“Everybody I know now knows somebody or has somebody in their family that has cystic fibrosis,” Hunt said. “When I was younger, nobody even knew what it was.”
She said she hoped the walk would raise a lot of money. And her mother, Pattie Hunt, added, “And hopefully find a cure. That’s our main goal.”
If you enjoyed this good news Subscribe to Good News Blog
Share this
To share this simply copy and paste one of the below URL's: