Seattle’s Great Strides fund-raising walk
Seattle’s Great Strides fund-raising walk was held on Sunday, May 17th – an absolutely gorgeous day. Villa Academy first graders in Melanie McFarland’s class chose, entirely independently, to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as the charity for their tooth drive.
The support for this charity was by extension support for their classmate, Sydney Pytte. Sydney was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was about 2 months old as a result of her inability to gain weight due to an obstructed pancreas.
Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. The body produces unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.
In the 1950s, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school. Today, advances in research and medical treatments have further enhanced and extended life for children and adults with CF. Many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.
This was the Pytte family’s 8th walk and this year Sydney’s Superstars team was the largest every. Her team had 70 walkers in all, including a large Villa contingent made up of Sydney’s teachers, classmates and their families.
The walk is about 3 miles long and goes from the Seattle Center, through downtown, along the waterfront, and back to the Seattle Center for a barbecue lunch.
As a team they raised over $10,000 with the entire Seattle walk raising over $400,000. These funds will go a long way in helping Sydney and all others with Cystic Fibrosis.
For more information on cystic fibrosis, visit the CF Foundations website at www.cff.org.
Thank you to everyone from Villa For supporting Sydney and CF!