We need your help to raise $1 million for CF research and care! 2010 Shinerama is just around the corner and we’re expecting it to be the best one yet! During my school’s official Shine Day, I will be part of more than 35,000 students from across Canada shining shoes, flipping burgers, washing cars, singing songs and teaching everyone about cystic fibrosis (CF). Cystic fibrosis is the most common, fatal genetic disease affecting Canadian children and young adults. Did you know that 1 in 25 people carries the defective gene that causes CF? Or that it is estimated that one in every 3,600 children born in Canada has CF? When Shinerama first began in 1964 most children with cystic fibrosis did not live long enough to attend kindergarten; today half of all Canadians with cystic fibrosis are expected to live into their 40s and beyond. However, there is no cure for cystic fibrosis. All money raised through pledges and donations will be used by the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF) to fund cystic fibrosis research and treatment programs at 40 Canadian CF clinics and five transplant centres. Thanks for the support. Someday, we will read in the newspaper that CF will stand for Cure Found and that we were all part of it!