Dear Friends, Colleagues and Teammates,

Many of you know me as a degenerate tennis bum, but may not know about my day job as Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. (Okay, those of you who have seen me play tennis probably think it is a really good thing that I have a day job. Alternately, if you only know me as "Dr." Ron, you probably think that I should concentrate more on my tennis!) In either case, I am writing to ask you to support both of these passions.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) affects about one of every three thousand babies born in the United States and is the most common genetic disease in Caucasians. Currently, there are about 30,000 people living with CF in the US. People with CF have a defective gene that leads to the production of very sticky mucus. This sticky mucus can clog the lungs, and cause chronic respiratory infections and progressive lung disease. It can also clog the pancreas, preventing a person’s natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.

Approximately 50 years ago, a group of concerned parents got together and formed the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) with a mission to “assure the development of the means to cure and control cystic fibrosis and to improve the quality of life for those with the disease.” At that time, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school. Today, with the support of the Foundation, advances in research and medical treatments have extended the median life expectancy for people with CF to over 37 years. Miraculously, over 40% of the people currently living with CF are adults! This remarkable progress has been fostered by the CF Foundation, which significantly funds basic and clinical research aimed at developing and improving treatments for CF. It also funds and accredits more than 115 CF care centers, 95 adult care programs, and 50 affiliate care programs. The Foundation has been noted by a number of prominent publications (including USA Today and Forbes) for its innovative model of supporting collaborative CF research in both industry and academia. It is also one of the most efficient organizations of its kind with over 90 percent of every dollar of revenue raised available to fund cystic fibrosis research, care and education programs. In fact, Charity Navigator, the country's largest independent evaluator of charities, has given the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation its coveted four-star rating for sound fiscal management.

So why am I telling you all of this? Each year, the Delaware Valley Chapter of the CFF sponsors “Game, Set, Cure,” a tennis auction ball and pro-am tournament that raises money for CF research and care. I had the privilege of playing in last year’s event (which raised over $125,000.) To support my entry into the pro-am this year (and my aforementioned tennis habit), I am asking for your help in the form of a contribution. Making a donation is easy and secure! Either go to

http://www.cff.org/LWC/RonRubenstein

or send a check (made payable to “The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation”) to: Delaware Valley Chapter, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 2004 Sproul Rd., Suite 208, Broomall, PA 19008.

Any amount you can donate is greatly appreciated. (Of course, the more “zero’s” at the end of amount, the better!)

Thank you for supporting CF and for helping me out.

Ron