‘Fishing for a Cure’ event raises $70K to support CF Foundation
Constellation Energy's annual event has raised more than $900K for charities
This year’s “Fishing for a Cure,” an annual fundraiser hosted by Constellation Energy Corporation, has raised $70,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a nonprofit that helps to support people living with cystic fibrosis (CF) and to fund research for new treatments.
“We are in shock by the incredible generosity of Constellation and its employees,” Meg Schneider, executive director of the foundation, said in a press release from Constellation.
Fishing for a Cure is an annual charity fishing tournament held on Braidwood Lake, in northern Illinois. Since its inception in 2002, the event has raised more than $900,000 to benefit a variety of charities.
This year, Contellation’s employees chose the CF Foundation as the beneficiary largely in recognition of Logan Kap, a young adult with CF whose father, Mike, works at one of Constellation’s Clean Energy Centers in Braidwood, Illinois.
CF is caused by mutations in the gene that encodes a protein called CFTR. This protein normally helps regulate the production of mucus, and CF is characterized by abnormally thick and sticky mucus that builds up in organs like the lungs and the pancreas, driving disease symptoms.
Modern medicine has improved outcomes, lifespan for CF patients
For most of human history, people with CF typically didn’t survive childhood. However, modern medical care has dramatically improved outcomes, and the vast majority of people born with CF nowadays are expected to live long into adulthood.
In particular, the last decade or so has seen the development and approval of CFTR modulators, which are medications that can restore the functionality of the defective CFTR protein in people with CF caused by specific mutations. These therapies have been proven to substantially improve lung function and ease symptoms for eligible patients.
Like many adults with CF, Logan Kap, 25, spent much of his childhood in and out of hospitals receiving treatment for the disease. He participated in one of the CFTR modulator clinical trials that helped support approval of these therapies, and reports it has had a major effect.
“I’m just happy to be here and be alive,” Logan said.
One of CF Foundation’s major goals is to support the development of new treatments that can provide similar benefits for patients who aren’t eligible for modulator therapy, through projects like the Path to a Cure initiative.
This year’s Fishing for a Cure tournament on May 18 included 47 two-person teams. The first-place winners were Trey Budach and Mike Hzechio, who snared $4,000 in prize money for catching three fish weighing a total of 13.49 pounds. Several runner-up teams also took home cash prizes.
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