Great Strides walk celebrates 30 years in Indiana

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GREENFIELD — Individuals with cystic fibrosis and the families who love them celebrated their successes Saturday, at a time when experts say a cure is closer than ever.

The first Great Strides walk in Indiana started 30 years ago, but this was the 19th-annual Greenfield Great Strides for Cystic Fibrosis walk, a 2K jaunt through the trails at Beckenholdt Park. As of Monday, the effort raised some $26,530 of the $40,000 goal, but the teams have until Dec. 31 to reach their goal, said Morgan Ferguson, event co-chair.

The money goes to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which conducts research into treatments for the rare disorder that prohibits normal function of the lungs and digestive system.

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Great Strides is the foundation’s largest fundraiser, with about 4,000 events taking place every year, said Rhonda Trebley, one of the event’s organizers. Last year, the Greenfield event raised a total of $36,892, she said.

And this year, five teams — called Super Striders — pledged to raise 25 percent more than they did last year, organizers said.

Trebley thanked the teams gathered Saturday for their help in growing the event and the money it raises for cystic fibrosis research.

“Let’s not stop until there is a cure for everyone with CF,” she said. “Together we are stronger, and together we will cross the finish line.”

Developments in the world of treatments keep families hopeful, Ferguson said.

She attended a Cystic Fibrosis Family Day event, where a doctor from one of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation care centers told the gathered crowd about two 74-year-old CF patients she is treating. The life expectancy for people with cystic fibrosis is currently about 40 years old, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation website.

“I thought, I heard her wrong,” Ferguson recalled. “As a group, we were euphoric knowing that’s a possibility for our children.”

In the last 18 years, the Greenfield walk has raised nearly $750,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. More than 5,000 people have participated in the walk since its inception, founder Pat Parker said in 2017. Parker created the Greenfield Great Strides group in 2000 after her granddaughter, Katie Parker, was diagnosed with the disease.

It’s a pleasure to meet and mingle with the families and friends of people living with the disease, said Jen Milewski, executive director of the Indiana chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

“We are on the brink, we’re closer than we’ve ever been to a cure,” she said. “Being able to celebrate with all the families who have gotten us this far is a really great day.”