Hi I am Patti or “Aunt” Patti to my beautiful niece, Aubrey Rose, the one over there playing Princess. This wonderful girl was born with Cystic Fibrosis, an incurable, life-shortening disease. For the last eight years I have worked with my brother and others to create and run the 65 Roses Golf Tournament to raise money to find a cure for CF. In total we are hoping that our tournament raises $70,000. As for donations, this is the first time I have had my own fundraising goal. My goal is quite modest and yet I’ve realized that no donation is too small.

A few months ago I was talking to a new friend and I mentioned my niece and the 65 Roses Golf Classic. This woman immediately reached for her wallet but all she had were four single dollar bills which she handed to me anyway. She then told me that her best friend from childhood had CF and wasn’t doing very well. I took her four dollars but must admit that I felt a bit foolish to start off my big fundraising page with a whopping four bucks. But then I saw her a month later and in tears she tells me that her 33 year old friend with CF had died. We hugged and cried and all I could think about was my 8 year old niece and wondered if Aubrey Rose only had 25 years left… Oh how I wish we could stop all these young people from dying with CF. This is a horrible incurable disease which kills everyone who has Cystic Fibrosis and devastates their families, and yes, their Aunts, too.

So please help us raise money to find a cure. It was too late for my friend’s friend but there are 30,000 other’s out there with CF, including my smart, beautiful niece, Aubrey Rose. And I am now humbled and proud to start my fundraising with the $4 donation, which was all the money my friend had in her wallet. Few people would be so generous as to clean out their wallet for a charitable cause and to honor her friend. And it serves as a reminder to me of those who aren't here anymore.

I don't care if you can only donate $4 or if you can give us $40 or even $400, every single dollar matters. And who knows, it just might be your dollar that is the last dollar needed to find that cure…

Thank you on behalf of my niece, her family and all CF families. And if you want more information please go to http://orlando.cff.org/65rosesgolf

Aunt Patti