ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation

So many lives and families have been impacted by cancer.  May is designated Brain Cancer Awareness Month and as many of you know, some members of TLF have been impacted by brain cancer - Katherine and Stephen Moore's sweet 7 year old daughter - Evangeline, passed away in 2019 from DIPG, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer that mainly affects children, with a 1% survival rate at 9-12 months post diagnosis.  Heather Asleson's beloved dad, Theodore, passed away from glioblastoma at the age of 63, in 2010.  Glioblastoma is an extremely aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer that affects 12,000-15,000 people per year.

These losses are unimaginable, and as we share these stories, we learn that more people in the gym than we know are affected by brain cancer and other forms of cancer.  I bet every single person in the gym knows someone who has battled or is battling cancer, so we are going to take this opportunity to fight back!

Childhood cancers and Brain Cancer in general receive very little funding from the federal government (less than 4% of the NCI budget), and due to this there have been very few advances in treatment options over the past few decades.  But we are in an exciting time where grassroots movements are rising up to make a difference and private donations and charities dedicated to seeing this change are making a huge impact in advancing research and treatment options.  Many researchers are starting to focus more on this, as they feel if they can figure out how to cure DIPG, they will figure out how to effectively treat all brain cancers.

Because of the community that we are, we're coming together to be a part of changing lives and raising money for cancer research and treatment.  We have selected a reputable charity whose mission is to see the dismal prognosis change for families affected by brain cancer, ChadTough Defeat DIPG (chadtough.org).

To up the ante because we are crossfitters and everything is a competition 😉, we're going to make this fun!  And what is more fun than watching your coaches do a bunch of burpees. Every dollar raised will equal 1 burpee, these will be split between the coaches of TLF.  i.e, If we raise $1,100, the 11 coaches will each do 100 burpees (Katherine and Heather said they may join in too and take some of the burpees 😝).

We're good people dedicated to doing good things, so let's come together to support families affected by cancer.  The fundraising starts on May 2nd and will end May15th.  Let's see our coaches doing LOTS of BURPEES 😍.  Thank you to our amazing TLF community for listening and considering being a part of this challenge.