2015 CF LIF

Hey everybody. Last year I ran this LIF to raise awareness for Cystic Fibrosis and it was a HUGE success! This year we are at it again. The goal here is to raise awareness about Cystic Fibrosis which is a genetic disease that effects the lungs and digestive system among other things. There are only about 30,000 people living with this disease and with your help we can fund the efforts to find a cure!

A few key points before I get into the beer portion of this LIF. We are raising money for a not for profit corporation called The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. May people are hesitant to donate to charity or not for profits because some of them give little of what they earn to the actual cause. Not the case with the CF Foundation. Information on this Non-Profit company can be found here: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=9142#.VMFIfy6rNmy

You will see through this link that this not for profit gives over 83% of the money it receives in donations and through it's investments towards research and supporting the families that deal with this disease. I can tell you that personally we receive free enzymes (vital for McKenna to absorb nutrients) and vitamins (vital as she needs extra fat soluble vitamins to maintain proper levels in her body). Families across the world count on this help for the expensive treatments patients with CF must undergo just to maintain an active lifestyle. Along with that, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has funded countless research programs to find a cure for this disease. Recently they helped develop a drug called Kalydeco which is the first drug to treat the underlying causes of CF rather than the symptoms. It as called the most important drug of 2014 and a "miracle drug". Since its inception in the late 1950's the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has been credited with raising the average life span of people diagnosed with CF from 10 years old to 41 years old!!! Due to the small number of people with CF (30,000) it is not economically beneficial to pharmaceutical companies to pay for the research it takes to develop these treatments. Without the CF Foundation none of the advances taking place would be possible!

It is because of these things we work to raise money each year at the Great Strides Walk, an event where last year we had nearly 50 people, friends and family members, join us at the event and with the help of the BeerAdvocate Community we raised over $8,800!!!! I was blown away by the generosity of the craft beer community in our efforts. Total strangers, many of them I now call friends, donated money, time and additional boxes to be given away in the first LIF. I look forward to another amazing experience this year! This years goal is $10,000. My wife and I won some prizes last year that we saved and plan to raffle off at an event this year to raise more funds. Between that and this amazing community I feel this goal can be reached!

So how does this work? Pretty simple actually. Follow the instructions below to donate to our Team.

Every $10 you donates gets you a ticket in the drawing for the boxes available.
You are able to win more than one box if you have more than one ticket.
My daughter, McKenna, will draw numbers at the end of the LIF to determine winners! I will post the video and coordinate winners with senders to assure you get your beers.

Here are directions for donating.
Go to the following link:
http://fightcf.cff.org/site/TR/Grea...io_Cleveland?team_id=32089&pg=team&fr_id=3488
At the bottom of the page look for the Team Roster.
Find my name, Raymond Felton, and click the Donate Button on the right.
Fill in the form. Every $10 you donate grants you one ticket.
IMPORTANT: Put your BA name under "Display Name" and also in the "Personal Email Message to Participant" This is how I will track donations.

Some additional info. If you would like to walk at the event it is in Wooster, Ohio. The walk is free to join in on. I will be planning an after party at a brewery called Wooster Brewery that is about 5 minutes away. This brewery is pretty great so stop in after and have a beer.

Also, if you spread the word that is just as good as donating! Put this up on Facebook, Twitter, anywhere on social media. If your Aunt Betty donates $10 she can put your BA name under the Display Name and Email section and YOU get a ticket! It also helps spread awareness about this disease which is the main goal! Knowledge is power!!!

Ok, ok now onto the fun part, the beer!

I have two boxes I will put up for grabs here.

Box 1: This box was won by my good friend @Double_EZ who is not very active on BA but a great dude! He said he felt bad he won such an amazing box last year so he took most of the contents and re-donated them to the cause this year. This was originally put together by @TastyDelicousness @Lkoro and some other amazing Chicago brethren! The box will contain the following Dark lord vertical!
Dark lord 2011
Dark lord 2012
Dark lord 2013
Dark lord 2014
*I will also look to add onto this throughout the following months!

Box 2: Jackie O's Madness!!!
Rum Oil of Aphrodite
Sherry Oil of Aphrodite
Oil of Aphrodite
BB Dark Apparition
Dark Apparition
BB Brick Kiln
Brick Kiln
BB Naja
Orange Oak
Poire
Chardonnay Opulence
BB Black Maple
*More bottles may be added to this or divided into an additional box as Jackie O's releases more through out the following months!

*The event is not until May 3rd 2015 so plenty of time to donate or spread it out over the next few months!
*winners limited to lower 48 states due to shipping costs

 

Wow, this thing got pinned! Thanks @Todd!

 

***UPDATE***
We are at $700 right now. Awesome jump in the first week. Server all boxes are bing discussed to add to the prize pool and will be announced as plans are solidified. Thank you all for the support! This was an amazing experience last year and I look forward to it again this year.

McKenna is also doing great! She is 20 months old now. She does breathing treatments that take 15-20 minutes 3 times a day and eats an enzyme before eat meal. So far she has done great with her weight in the high 90th percentile. She has developed a few coughs which required oral antibiotics over the last 20 months but besides that just the normal kids stuff not specific to CF. She has hand foot and mouth twice...not fun for anyone...ear infections that led to needing tubes in her ears...takes after he old man with that one...and the occasional flu bug. Kid is tough man, this has not slowed her down. She is running around causing a riot and my wife and I are enjoying every second! In July she will be a big sister and I think she is ready for it!

Thank you so much all for the support! Now let's go enjoy a beer!

 

This guy!

 

I don't even know what game I'm playing anymore, ha!