Close to the heart

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A Seymour family has a personal mission to help find a cure for cystic fibrosis.

Jerry and Rachel Cravens have spent the past 15 years helping their daughter, Megan, raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and awareness of the disease through Megan’s Wish.

The dinner and live auction along with bake sales and other fundraisers they have organized have been successful in bringing in more than $100,000 over the years.

Although she looks like a healthy and active 19-year-old college freshman, Megan has battled cystic fibrosis since she was born. The genetic disease, which progressively limits a person’s ability to breathe, is rare, with around 30,000 Americans having it.

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There is no cure for cystic fibrosis, and the median predicted survival age is 41, which has increased as more therapies and medications are developed.

This year’s Megan’s Wish auction will be at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Knights of Columbus in downtown Seymour. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Items to be auctioned off include gift certificates and items donated by local businesses, hotels, restaurants, amusement park and Disney tickets, gift baskets, autographed sports memorabilia and more.

Although there is no formal dinner planned, food will be available for purchase, including hamburgers, hot dogs and barbecue pork.

There will be children’s activities, a 50/50 raffle and a silent auction, too.

All proceeds and donations from the event will go to support the Megan Wish team in the Seymour Great Strides Walk on Sept. 9 at Seymour Middle School. Money raised at the walk will help the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation fund research and treatments to extend patients’ lives.

The ultimate goal is to find a cure, Rachel Cravens said.

In early April, the Cravenses were invited to attend the annual Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Volunteer Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas, where they shared their fundraising success story and learned of medical and scientific updates on the disease.

“The progress they are making in research and new medications is just amazing,” Rachel Cravens said. “The stories that were shared were so inspiring. I have never been more motivated to keep continuing to raise money to support this research.”

Every breakthrough means adding tomorrows to the lives of those with cystic fibrosis, she said.

“Some are still dying too soon though,” she said. “We have to keep funding the medications and research to stop that from happening, and we are making progress with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.”

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What: Megan’s Wish live auction for cystic fibrosis

When: Doors open at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Auction starts at 4:30 p.m.

Where: Knights of Columbus in downtown Seymour

Food will be available for purchase. There will be children’s activities, a 50/50 raffle, a silent auction and more.

All proceeds go to the Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

For information, call Rachel or Jerry Cravens at 812-405-2844 or 812-569-4289.

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