Every August for eleven years, some of Will's dearest friends held fundraisers to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Thanks to your generous contributions, "Casting to Cure CF" and "Cocktails to Cure CF" raised over $75,000 for this lifesaving organization over those years. Will was immensely grateful for this, and for the support of CFF. This year, in honor of Will, we are doing our annual fundraiser for CFF through this page. Please help if you can. Thank you, and here are some of Will's words from 2016 and 2017: July 24, 2016 "Happy Sunday, everyone. Every year I participate in the charity fishing event "Casting to Cure CF." The event was created by my long time friend Amory Thorndike to help benefit the research into Cystic Fibrosis, the genetic disease which primarily affects the respiratory and digestive systems. CF causes deterioration of lung tissue over time. Eventually the tissue diminishes to the point of "end stage" and is fatal unless a bilateral lung transplant is performed. And even those are not guaranteed. Though patients can receive a bilateral lung transplant like I have, it's still necessary to continue many CF-related medications. And every year advancements in treatment extend the life, improve the quality of life, and reduce the necessity of a transplant for patients with CF. If these advancements hadn't been funded then I would not have gone as far as I did to reach transplant. And I would not be where I am 5 years after my transplant. This would not be possible without the funding for research. Recent advancements have provided medications like the inhaled antibiotic Tobi Podhaler, gene mutation therapy in Kalydeco and Orkambi, as well as research into promising medications and therapy including QR-010 and Serendex. The event is not necessary to participate in as it's in Massachusetts. But you can still donate without doing the entry fee. Whatever you can contribute will support the next step in research and working toward a cure. Please consider donation and enjoy the rest of your day! Also if you're not an organ donor yet, you should be." 2017 "Even during post-transplant I still require CF medications that aren't just stabilizing but life-saving. There are many other CF patients who have not made it as far as I have and need all the help they can get through research and medicine. We're catching up to this disease and it's because of these resources that we're turning the tide. Basically, we're finally winning. But we aren't there yet. I would be deeply grateful and appreciative (of your contributions) as I'm clear evidence of what these resources can achieve. I endured this long in part because of the remarkable research advancing CF healthcare every year. Please consider donating what you can and thank you for taking the time! -Will"