Guts and/for/to Glory

Dear Friends:

The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to finding the cure for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. On Friday, 24 August, I will be visiting my father in Omaha, Nebraska, and volunteering for this year’s CCFA ‘Guts & Glory Walk ‘. I’m asking for your help.

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the main forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and aren’t well known, though they affect hundreds of thousands of people in North America alone. IBD (not to be confused with the unrelated irritable bowel syndrome) is an inflammatory condition of the large intestine, and there is no known cause or cure. It affects both adults and children alike.

A few years ago, my father began showing symptoms of IBD. He couldn’t eat, had trouble sleeping, and was in a state of constant fatigue. He was unable to work or enjoy his life for the pain and discomfort, and for the simple fear of being too far from a bathroom. Every part of his life and body had been consumed by his disease.

During his ordeal, my father found the CCFA and a local support group for those with Crohn’s disease and colitis. The friends he made and the support they provided were so important to his recovery that, when he recently retired, my father wanted to offer that same comfort to others. Last year he went to work full-time as a Development Coordinator for the the CCFA, and started the Nebraska chapter. He has just returned from Camp Oasis, a youth summer camp for children living with IBD.

The CCFA is dedicated to finding the cause and cure for Crohn’s and colitis, and offering help and hope until that goal is met. My father has made that same commitment. I’m asking for your sponsorship as I volunteer and walk later this month.

My team, the Gilberts Guts to Glory Gang, is twenty-four friends and family members who want to support my father and the CCFA. So far we’ve raised $2,200, which is far beyond the goal we set for ourselves. However there are three weeks left, and we want to see how far we can go. 82% of your donation goes to CCFA programs and services, the rest supporting fund raising and administrative costs.

Any support is appreciated, whether it’s ten-thousand dollars or a prayer. Though ten-thousand dollars would be really, really nice. If you do choose to sponsor me, you may donate online or by mail (see the online donation page for further information).

To my blogging friends: because I’m shameless and because it never hurts to ask, if any of you would be willing to donate a blog post about this, I’d be ever so appreciative. I’d thank you. Profusely.

Thank you very much, and God bless!

All the Best,
Jared

Donate online or by mail

About the CCFA

Read a story about Alec, a twelve-year-old boy with Crohn’s disease>

One Response

  1. KC
    KC at | | Reply

    Shameless ain’t all bad ;)

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