Arkansas Chapter of CF Foundation Raises $145,000 at Breath of Life Gala

The Arkansas Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation held another successful edition of its Breath of Life Gala last Tuesday, November 25th at the Marriott Hotel in Little Rock. The fundraising event, which has become a tradition in Arkansas, gathered 360 guests and featured a candid speech from Katherine Lambert-Pennington, who suffers from cystic fibrosis.

The event was the seventh annual edition of the Breath of Life Gala, which this year raised more than $145,000 to help support the Foundation’s mission. Katherine Lambert-Pennington was diagnosed with CF  in 1974 when she was a baby, and the doctors told her parents that she wouldn’t live past seven years old. However, the story of her life turned out quite differently from what her doctors had predicted, and now she is sharing her story with the CF community to raise awareness about the disease.

“Thanks to the work of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which is made possible by your support, I am able to live a life that I love,” Katherine Lambert-Pennington said in a news release from the CFF. “Each year, because of the science that you help fund, we understand more about this disease, and we are getting closer to a cure.”

Katherine Lambert-Pennington is now 42 years old, married, and works as an associate professor at the University of Memphis. In addition to the speech at the Breath of Life Gala, she continues to share her story whenever she can and inspire others who also live with cystic fibrosis.

[adrotate group=”1″]

“We are so proud of the work our outstanding volunteers have done to make this event a success,” said the executive director  of the Arkansas Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Melody Sugg. “It is humbling to know how many people in and near Little Rock support people with CF and their families, and the mission to find a cure.”

Greg Hatcher was also among the volunteers at the Gala, as he is an active contributor to many causes in Arkansas and was honored for his commitment to the Central Arkansas area. “The CF Foundation has made tremendous progress in recent years toward its mission of finding a cure for all people with CF, but there is more work to be done. It is up to us to continue raising the funds needed so this organization can fulfill its mission and end this disease once and for all,” Hatcher said.