FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  May 21, 2007

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CW’s 7th Heaven Actress Mackenzie Rosman to Visit Top CureFinders Fund-raising School for 2006

Deer Creek High School in Oklahoma Raises $32,000 to Fight Cystic Fibrosis

(Bethesda, Md.)–The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation announced today that actress Mackenzie Rosman, the Foundation’s first-ever National Honorary Chair for its CureFinders school fund-raising program, will visit the top earning school for 2006—Deer Creek High School in Edmond, Okla. Students at the school raised $32,000 in one week.

“For me, the fight against cystic fibrosis is personal,” said Rosman, who plays Ruthie Camden on the CW network’s television series 7th Heaven, a perennial family favorite. “My stepsister Katelyn has cystic fibrosis, and she recently underwent a double lung transplant. Our family wants to thank the students of Oklahoma for their dedication to fighting this devastating disease.”

Rosman will visit the nation’s top earning CureFinders school each year.

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disease that affects 30,000 adults and children in the United States. It causes life-threatening lung infections and serious digestive complications. More than 10 million Americans are symptomless carriers of a CF gene.  Young people are lost every day to this disease.

The CureFinders program, which began in 2006, has more than 300 participating schools nationwide. As part of CureFinders, students from grades K-12 collect spare change and classrooms compete to raise the most money at their school. The program has raised $670,000—each dollar critical to funding lifesaving CF research.

“I want to personally thank the students and staff of Deer Creek High who worked so hard to raise money and help us fight cystic fibrosis,” said Robert J. Beall, Ph.D., president and CEO of the CF Foundation. “We are grateful to all the students in Oklahoma—and around the country—who participate in CureFinders. With their help, we hope to make CF stand for ‘Cure Found.’”   

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc., a longtime supporter of the CF Foundation, is a leading corporate sponsor of CureFinders. In markets where its restaurants are located, the BJ’s Restaurants Foundation will donate $1,000 to each school that raises at least $1,000 for CureFinders and will match the school’s fund-raising total up to $2,000 per school. Additionally, BJ’s will provide a pizza party for the winning class at each participating school.

“We congratulate Deer Creek students and are proud to support CureFinders and schools across the country that are raising money for vital cystic fibrosis research,” said Rob DeLiema, president of the BJ's Restaurants Foundation.

To help fight CF, get involved in CureFinders by calling (800) FIGHT CF or visiting www.cff.org.

About the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is the leading organization devoted to curing and controlling cystic fibrosis. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., the Foundation funds CF research, has more than 80 chapter and branch offices throughout the country, and supports and accredits a nationwide network of more than 115 CF care centers, which provide vital treatments and other CF resources to patients and families.