May 5th!

On Saturday May 5th, for the 14th straight year, our family will take Great Strides to cure Cystic Fibrosis. We NEED YOUR HELP to sponsor our walk team!!!! Every dollar contributed brings us that much closer to finding a cure for this devastating disease.

Raising money for this worthwhile cause is the very least we can do to ensure that one day a cure will be found for my 16-year-old son, Nicholas, and other kids like him. So please support Nic's Team with a sponsorship donation if you can. Lots of generous people have helped us in the past and we are extremely grateful.

THE PICTURE is of Nic at an IN-n-OUT Burger restaurant in California. in 2010, Nic was chosen as a Make-A-Wish kid and he choose a trip to Disneyland. so last fall we went as a family to Orange County, California and visited the Disney parks, Knott's Berry Farm and Medieval Times. It was LOTS of FUN! Yes, we have lots of photos from our adventures at the Disney parks but while we were there we just had to eat at an IN-n-OUT while we had the chance.

Great Strides is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's largest and most successful national fund-raising event. Please help by sponsoring me and Nic's Team. Your generous gift will be used efficiently and effectively, as nearly 90 cents of every dollar of revenue raised is available for investment in vital CF programs to support research, care and education. Every dollar contributed brings us that much closer to finding a cure.

Making a donation is easy and secure! Just click the "Click to Donate" button on this page to go to make a donation that will be credited to my team. Any amount you can donate is greatly appreciated!

More research is needed to help EVERY patient with CF. There are some amazing advancements being made all the time. Add more tomorrows with a donation to Nic's Team.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a devastating genetic disease that affects tens of thousands of children and young adults in the United States. Research and care supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is making a huge difference in extending the quality of life for those with CF. However, we continue to lose precious lives to CF every day. That's why your help is needed now more than ever to ensure that a cure is found sooner - rather than later. To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org.

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of those with CF! Thank you for supporting the mission of the CF Foundation and Great Strides!
If you have an extra few dollars then please consider giving. Even $5 can make a big difference. All contributions are tax-deductible.

THANKS FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!
 --- Chris Hodges, “Nic’s Dad”
 e-mail: curecf@cox.net

SUCCESS at Great Strides 2011!

BIG THANKS to everyone who supported Nic's Team in the Great Strides walk in 2011! Our team contributed about $800 this year. A little short of our goal but not too bad. The overall effort was very successful.  The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Virginia reports that the Roanoke event raised $38 Thousand dollars by walk day this year, exceeding the set goal of $34,000. The final tally is expected to be over $50 thousand dollars going directly to the CFF National Office and then directly towards research. This is why we take strides to cure CF. Donations buy Research. Research buys Life.

Here are some of my pics from this year's Great Strides walk in Roanoke on May 7th.......

 

The walkers of Nic's Team included 1 non-human. Yes, it is really a remote-controlled robot. It was built by the Robotics team at Patrick Henry High School. Nic is a member of the team. Big Thanks to Robotics teacher Mr. Cotter for bringing the robot outside on a Saturday.

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Nic and his teammate Cody drove the robot for the entire course.

When everyone started walking around the campus, our robot-led team was able to keep up a decent pace with the group. but....  

     

....as we started going uphill, the small machine couldn't quite keep up with the other walkers.

  

As we passed by the stables, one horse may have been wondering what was that strange thingy going by.

By the time we got to the biggest hill on the back side of campus, the other walkers were out of sight.

Finally, Nic and his robot reached the end of the course. We didn't set any speed records, but we finished.

There were lots of FUN activities for the walkers to do after the walking was done. There was a DJ playing music, PIZZA, refreshments, crafts for the kids, a clown making balloon animals, and even BUBBLES! 

The DJ led a limbo contest and a hoola-hoop contest. The robot even did a little demonstration to entertain folks. A great time was had by all!

new videos from GS '11 coming up.....

this SATURDAY

this SATURDAY is Roanoke's Great Strides for CF. Nic's Team is ready to go and excited because the weather forecast is good. it is always held on the beautiful Hollins University campus. here are some of my best pics from last year's walk.....

here is a pic of the walkers for Nic's Team in 2010. it is me (hat), Nic (yellow shirt) and his sister Somer, with Granny Ree and Papa Archie...

new pics from 2011 coming up next week....

less than one week to go!

less than one week to go.... next weekend is GREAT STRIDES 2011 in Roanoke! several sponsors have already signed up but we are not yet close to our goal. PLEASE help Nic's Team if you can! Click on the Great Strides box to JOIN .....




here is a super-cool celebrity endorsement from NFL Quaterback Boomer Esiason ....




Boomer won't be at Hollins University for the Roanoke walk. but Nic's Team will. its gonna be fun for everyone....