Sept. 10, 2008

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Over 100 members of the St. Bonaventure Athletics Department will take part in the GREAT STRIDES: Taking Steps to Cure Cystic Fibrosis walk on Saturday, September 13 at the St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Salamanca.

A 10:00 a.m. registration kicks-off the festivities at 99 Wildwood Avenue before the walk begins one hour later at 11:00 a.m. Multiple members of the athletics staff as well as the men's and women's basketball, lacrosse, women's soccer and women's swimming teams will participate in the event for the second straight fall.

Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Darryn Fiske has initiated the involvement of St. Bonaventure in the fight against cystic fibrosis (CF) following the diagnosis of his three year-old nephew, Andrew. Fiske has also been involved in the organizational development of the Salamanca walk in the past two years.

"It has been my family's goal to do whatever we can to help find a cure for cystic fibrosis or at least provide Andrew and other children with the disease an opportunity to live a long and prosperous life," said Fiske. "The GREAT STRIDES walk is one of many ways my family and the community can become involved with finding a cure and we all can make a difference."

Along with this year's walk, the GREAT STRIDES event will include raffles, music, auctions and lunch immediately following the walk. All proceeds will be donated towards the research and treatment of cystic fibrosis.

"We raised over $10,000 at the GREAT STRIDES event in Salamanca last year and our goal is to surpass that total on Saturday," said Fiske. "The support from our local community has helped make this goal achievable."

Visit http://greatstrides.cff.org to make an on-line donation or to register for this weekend's walk. For more information, please contact Greg Herrick (716-560-8559) or Sandi Brundage (716-307-5996).

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. More than 10 million Americans are symptom less carriers of the defective CF gene.