CF’s Boomer Esiason Foundation Showcases ‘Team Boomer’ at Rockefeller Center

PatrĂ­cia Silva, PhD avatar

by PatrĂ­cia Silva, PhD |

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The Boomer Esiason Foundation (BEF) recently launched an awareness campaign for Team Boomer, its effort to encourage the cystic fibrosis (CF) community to live a healthy and active lifestyle and gets athletes to join the fight. The current initiative includes an EHE International partnership that led to a prominent BEF holiday window display at Rockefeller Center.

“We are so excited to be featured at such an incredible New York City landmark. As a Long Island native, I know just how important Rockefeller Center is around the holidays and the vast number of people who flock to see the window displays, iconic tree, and to ice skate,” Boomer Esiason, a former NFL quarterback whose son, Gunnar, was diagnosed with CF in 1993, said in a press release. “EHE International’s generosity in highlighting BEF around the holidays is humbling — and seeing my Foundation featured in a window at Roc Center is a dream come true.”

The Boomer Esiason Foundation’s mission is to support the CF community through scholarships and transplant grants, exercise and educational programs, and donations to CF research. So far, BEF has already raised more than $115 million for these efforts.

Team Boomer — Fighting Cystic Fibrosis, started in 2006 by CF patient Jerry Cahill, is a registered 501C(3) nonprofit with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the largest independent charity evaluator in the U.S. The team includes runners, hikers, cyclists, and other athletes helping to motivate and support people with CF. Team events for the coming year include the 2016 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon in New York, the 2016 NJ Half Marathon at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and the 2016 Virgin Money London Marathon, in London, England. Information on other Team Boomer events are available on its website.

EHE International, established in 1913, is the largest and most experienced preventive medicine specialist in early disease detection and associated risk factors in the U.S. “EHE International is delighted to host the Boomer Esiason Foundation in raising awareness about cystic fibrosis,” said Deborah McKeever, president of  EHE International.

Cystic fibrosis is a rare, congenital, and chronic illness of the lungs, and digestive and reproductive systems. Today, it is estimated that 30,000 people suffer from the disease in the U.S. alone.