NCAA National Champions one day, swimming to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis the next.

The Auburn University Swimming and Diving Team hosted Laps for Cystic Fibrosis on Sat., April 4, 2009 for the fifth year.

Laps for CF is a non-profit dedicated to raising awareness of CF and providing financial assistance for CF research, care, treatment and improved quality of life. This organization began with Emily Schreiber, a nine-year-old determined girl who had just found she had CF, wanting to raise money through a fundraiser. She connected her love for swimming and her newly diagnosed disease to get friends and family to pledge a dollar amount per lap she swam.

With these humble beginning, now Laps for CF is in the state’s most prominent schools, University of Alabama and Auburn University and is recently partnering with The Boomer Esiason Foundation and BioGuard to conduct nationwide swims. What began as a local swim fundraiser is now a successful CF non-profit with a variety of local and national events.

CF is a hereditary disease affecting the mucus glands of the lungs, liver, pancreas and intestines. The disorder also causes digestive problems, and in most cases CF patients take enzymes to help break down nutrients. In most cases, CF causes an early death. Average life expectancy is around 36.8 years according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

In the state of Alabama, CF affects 300 people and then 300,000 across the United States. Schreiber and the staff of Laps for CF hope they can change this numbers.

At this past Saturday’s event, Auburn’s swimming and diving team held and exhibition and Sullivan Britnell, an Auburn’s local child with CF, also swam some laps.

“She swims 100 laps and all for CF and people donate money for each lap that she swims,” said Jordan Anderson, member of Auburn’s swim team

The money raised on Saturday goes to three different entities fighting against CF:
State CF Care Centers- these provide treatment and service for CF patients, whether they are children or adults.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation- a national nonprofit organization finances all of the research toward finding a cure for CF.
CF Hope for Alabama- a nonprofit organization helping CF families by providing them with financial support, transportation and their daily needs.

“We had a number of individuals from the community come out to help support Emily Schrieber, who is the creator and is a 17 year old girl from Alabama who has cystic fibrosis and they all came out to support her. And basically it is an event for the swim team to show off and exhibit some of the things we do but also to to support her,” said Anderson.



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