Dear Dean Reardon:
My name is Breck Gamel and I have a son with cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a terminal genetic disease caused by a defective gene that makes the body produce thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening infections. There is no cure for cystic fibrosis.
This year the University of Mississippi fraternity Alpha Tau Omega helped raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation through their philanthropy, Greek Cup. The group did an amazing job and helped raise more than $42,000 for cystic fibrosis research. These funds will help impact the lives of many children and adults living with cystic fibrosis. Because of the generosity of ATO, more money will be contributed to research to help control this disease as well as add funding for the CF Care Centers where CF patients received their care.
This year’s ATO fundraiser, Greek Cup, was particularly touching to our family as our three year old son Bennett suffers from this disease and has a life expectancy of 37 years. All money raised goes directly to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on behalf of our son (an ATO legacy through his uncle) as well as to the other 30,000 children and adults in the United States with cystic fibrosis.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is the world’s leader in the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis. The Foundation’s mission is to find a cure for cystic fibrosis and to improve the quality of life for people living with the disease. The Foundation is accomplishing their mission by funding life-saving research and working to provide access to quality care and effective therapies for people with CF. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation raises and invests hundreds of millions of dollars to help develop CF drugs and therapies. Through our efforts, as well as the efforts of the ATO Fraternity at Ole Miss, the life expectancy of a child with CF has doubled in the last 30 years, and research to find a cure is more promising than ever before.
I want to sincerely thank the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity as well as all those who participated in this year’s Greek Cup for a tremendously successful philanthropy and for donating such a meaningful financial gift to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. As a mother who grieves that her son’s life is one full of suffering and a shortened life span, I am incredibly encouraged to have such fine men raise money to extend my son’s life and to help further research to find him a cure!
Please call or email me if you have any questions about this fundraiser at 318-268-6660 or breckgamel@gmail.com. Thank you for all that you do for the students at the University of Mississippi! It is clear that you have some amazing young men and women on campus doing great things for others!
Sincerely,
Breck Gamel
Volunteer, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and mother of a child with cystic fibrosis
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My son, Bennett, suffers from a life-shortening disease.
Here is his story: http://youtu.be/ksPyF8kwxEU
And here is how you can help: http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/bennettsbrigade