Raising Money to Find a Cure, One Ribbon Barrette at a Time How many times a day do we tell our kids that we're proud of them? Probably not nearly enough. As a daughter of Chinese parents, it's not in our culture's nature to celebrate incredible accomplishments by announcing them to the world, but I'm going to break the rule and announce that I'm so proud of my 10-year-old daughter and all that she has done to raise money to support research to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis(CF,) "Mommy, " said Emily as we rushed around the house packing our things for another day at the pool last summer. "I'm going to bring my ribbon barrettes to sell during adult swimming" Emily's best friend is one of the 30,000 children and adults living in the United States with Cystic Fibrosis, a life-threatening genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. In the 1950s, very few children with CF lived to attend elementary school. Although great progress in understanding and treating CF has led to great improvements in the length and quality of life for those with CF, there still isn't a cure. Last spring, Emily donated $ 140 CFF's Great Walk in honor of her best friend living with Cystic Fibrosis. She had no idea what the summer would bring for her CFF ribbon barrette fundraise when school ended for the year. Fortunately, every time I shared a photo of Emily's ribbon barrettes on the Internet, we received orders that privately message me or email me with requests for barrettes in their favorites colors. Three weeks into the summer, Emily had raised $ 297 and I was spending a lot of time running her to the craft store to restock her supplies for a very good cause while my husband was packing and shipping orders all over the country. My social media accounts have served as the most powerful tool for Emily to spread the _ . People notice kids doing great things and want to help the girls who are raising money to help find a cure, one ribbon barrette at a time. Emily and her best friend have named their activity Ribbon Barrettes for Research. They have business cards and a brand new shiny website developed on a free platform, to show that any kid can do what she has been doing. To my daughter, each sale is a victory and each order that goes out is an opportunity to spread awareness about CF. The handwritten thank-you note included in each order further shows the importance of teaching kids and parents how much their purchase support research that we hope will one day find a cure for CF. As a parent, I love that Emily has found the power in her own voice and she has inspired others to advocate causes they care about. What is Emily's attitude towards treating Cystic Fibrosis?
Unconcerned Pessimistic Hopeful Unworried