Annual Crew’s Charity Day Brings Awareness to Cystic Fibrosis and Fun to Families

CULLMAN – After the threat of severe weather forced a postponement of Crew’s Charity Day, and after much perseverance, the big day finally arrived on Saturday. Team Crew has worked tirelessly to spread awareness and raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis, and yet another year has come to fruition where their efforts have paid off.

The 2nd annual Team Crew Charity Day was held at Depot Park and residents across the county showed up to donate funds and support. Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a serious genetic disorder that damages the lungs and digestive system by disrupting the workings of cells that produce mucus, sweat and digestive juices. According to Joe Pettus, Crew’s father, it is up to families like his and others to help fund the research for CF as federal funding is slim to none.

“Cystic Fibrosis affects an estimated 30,000 Americans,” he said. “That’s not a very large number of people to the government so they haven’t seen fit to fund a lot of the research. But that is why all of our proceeds go to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Almost all of the funding for research has come from that foundation, and unlike like a lot of other places, 90 percent of the money they get goes to the research.”

It was a beautiful day for the event, and children enjoyed a fun-filled day of bounce houses, face painting and meeting Spiderman and Elsa. Over 40 craft vendors came to sell their wares and support the cause. Clothing, accessories, candles, pottery and home decor were available to browse and shop. One such vendor is Ashley LaShum, owner of MadebyGrace, who chose this particular event as her first ever event to show her beautiful bows and accessories. “This my very first time showing my crafts and I have had a great day so far,” said LaShum. “I didn’t know anything about this event until I saw a post online by a friend. I was actually going to do another event, but after I read Crew’s story, I knew I just had to do this one.”

At the conclusion of the days activities, it was announced that Team Crew had raised $7,348 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation that will hopefully help to bring scientists that much closer to a cure. Crew’s mother Jessica Pettus was thankful for the support of their community.

“I really want to thank everyone that has supported us through all of this,” she said. “The whole community has been so good to us and supportive. I really wouldn’t want to do this anywhere else but Cullman.”

For more information on Crew’s Story and how to donate, visit Facebook.com/TeamCrewAwareness.