Dear Friends,

We are preparing for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Great Strides walkathon on June 2 at Soldier Field!   This will be the eighth consecutive year that Team Gisch is participating.

Of course, our inspiration is my Goddaughter and niece, Catherine Kitz, who just turned 17 in April.  She is a Junior at Montini and is on the Varsity track team. We are so proud of Catherine and her many achievements, despite the many, ongoing challenges of this disease.  Over the past year, typically every day, Catherine has taken numerous meds that have been developed through your donations and the work of the CF Foundation.  In fact, the CF Foundation helped fund a major break-through:  a new drug Kalydeco, recently approved by the FDA, has reversed the effect CF has on the lungs in people who have one particular version of the CF gene.  It is the first drug that treats the underlying cause of CF.  We are hoping that, with more research, this same drug will be modified for use by Catherine and others with her version of the CF gene.  This exciting development has made our fundraising efforts even more important.

Please consider joining us in our fight for a cure for Cystic Fibrosis by making a 100% tax deductible donation at this link:  http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/TeamGischGisch6700

As always, our entire family is so very grateful for your generosity and support!  

We thank you,
Elizabeth Gisch, Kate and Don Ogilvie, Peggy and Randy Zahora, the Kitz Family