Go Team Annabelle!

This Saturday some Stonybrook Day Camp staff and campers will be busy supporting one of their own, and we welcome you to join us. 

Annabelle Christ, Randolph resident, avid Giants fan and camper for the past 6 years, loves StonybrookDay Camp.  And we are talking about some serious mutual affection-  Belle and her entire family are big names in our camp community.  In addition to her camp friends and counselors, Belle specifically loves cooking, swimming and arts n’ crafts.  Her twin Adam loves super science, jumping pillow and boating/fishing.  They are both excited for camp to begin in just 49 days (but who’s counting?).  However, they are also excited to see what kind of impact their family’s fundraising efforts will have this year for a very important cause, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Great Strides Walk.  Held this Saturday at Horseshoe Lake in Roxbury, registration begins at 10am and the mile and a half walk starts at 11am.  After the loop is completed walkers return to the pavilion to enjoy lunch and celebrate the accomplishments of the Foundation and its CF community.

While you might not realize it when you see her smiling at camp, Belle has Cystic Fibrosis.  To quote her fundraising page, “Belle is a shining example of those that are living and succeeding everyday with Cystic Fibrosis. Her health continues to stay strong but we feel like some days it takes a village to keep her that way. There is a lot of hard work and time that goes into keeping a child with CF healthy. Everyday she endures hours of respiratory therapies, nightly tube feedings and handfuls of pills just to stay well. Each day brings a new challenge and often an unforeseen struggle. She handles this with grace and humor, gaining the admiration of so many that meet her.” 

Many of us at camp are excited to be a part of Team Annabelle, which is participating for its 9^th year and has raised over $200,000 to date (this year an additional $12,000 has been raised so far).  The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation receives no federal funding and uses 90 cents of every dollar raised directly for CF research.  Named one of Smart Money Magazine’s Charities that won’t waste your money, the foundation has had a tremendous impact on the lives of many with CF.  Drugs, including some that Belle takes, have been developed because the Foundation works with pharmaceutical companies to study them and eventually bring them to market. Without the fundraising efforts of the Foundation, like this walk, so many life saving therapies would have never been developed. 

Stonybrook Day Camp is proud to have supported Team Annabelle for the last few years and we are equally proud that camp is a place where Belle feels right at home, and just like any other camper.  As we said, this is mutual affection!  We would love to have you join us this Saturday on Team Annabelle. For more information on walking (to join the team) go to www.cff.org/great_strides/teamannabelle or email Liz Christ at eporet@optonline.net.  We are so proud of the Christ family for making an impact; we too look forward to the day CF stands for "Cure Found".  Go Team Annabelle!

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