November 2016 Fundraising is here!

Fundraising is an important aspect for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Barbados (Cffb). It is even more critical since cystic fibrosis is quite expensive to treat, and there is no cure. So, how do we enable families to better cope? By assisting them in the raising of much needed funds.

Monthly costs for medication can average US$12,335.00; and this does not include the freight costs to Barbados of US$300. Additionally, doctor visits are an additional cost that requires travel abroad to obtain medical treatment - this usually entails airfare, accommodations, and related ground expenses. 

The Cffb's approach to fundraising is not to only take, but to also give something in return and therefore on Saturday November 12 and 19, 2016; we will be offering the following as a way of raising funds:

Please come out and support us. We look forward to seeing you at the Sky Mall in Haggatt Hall and we begin at 09:30 until 18:30 Hrs. [9:30 am until 6:30 pm]. These affected children really need your help! Thank you in advance for your kind support and contributions.

Please visit our website www.cfbarbados.org for continued updates. Have a wonderful week ahead!

The responsibility of a charity

Though a charitable organization's main purpose is not a profit motive, it is important that a businesslike approach is taken to running such an organization in order to ensure continued support from those who serve and those who are served.

What does this mean?

In short, here are a number of aspects the leadership of a charity need to consider.

• The leadership structure and roles are sound with clear lines of authority and responsibilities. 
• There must be great document management and file storage. 
• Meeting minutes need to be out around 72 hours of the last meeting. This so the discussions of the meeting can be expedited in time for the next meeting. 
• Volunteers need to understand that they are accountable for what they have promised to contribute. There really is no room for people to lag. If you're unable to adequately contribute; you may actually be a hindrance rather than a help. 
• You accounting and accountability should be current. Complete with audit reviews on an annual basis. 
• Databases need to be current, these include: volunteers, sponsors, donors, supporters.
• Correspondence must be well managed, stored, and traceable. 
• Meeting participants need to arrive promptly, contribute wholeheartedly, and leave with clarity as to what's required of them by the next time there's a meeting. 
• Training needs to be ongoing, complete with a train-the-trainer program. 
• Budgets should be established to ensure that the organization adequately plans for the needs to further their cause. 

Though this list is not exhausted, you begin to get an idea of the vast responsibility required to ensure the smooth functioning of a charity. 

Standards are Key to Success

From its inception, We at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Barbados [The Cffb] decided that we wanted to be different. We wanted to be the organization by which others would be bench-marked. We wanted to rewrite the standard for excellence among charitable organizations in Barbados first and then farther afield.

Cystic Fibrosis is an expensive illness requiring large sums of money for those suffering with it and their families, due to this accountability is a huge requirement for this organizations functionality.

Here's what we've found. The need for standards isn't understood nor appreciated by everyone. Some people want to have the benefits of being associated with the organization without making the necessary contributions. It doesn't happen on its own. When we engage in our activities, it is done for the benefit of all involved, so that all affected by CF can benefit. It is never in isolation and can never show favoritism. Systems that are implemented must therefore be able to be applied across the board.

We as an organization, cannot allow people to use our name to raise funds for the benefit of their isolated cases. We say this because it has been attempted, and if not nipped in the bud this would have been the result. Corporate citizens would have been bombarded by requests for the same condition from the Cffb and individuals seeking aid for their own situations.

Our commitment to training ensures that when we recruit volunteers they are trained and then released to function within the various programs within the foundation. There is constant monitoring as was seen in our recent awards to our high school volunteers.  

Some volunteers were able to advance within their chosen fields of work and they too will be certified on a project basis with consideration to their developed competency.

So far, we have always had successful events as lots of hard work goes into the planning process so that execution is near to flawless, complete with fail safes. This is necessary since even the best laid plans can have unforeseen circumstances. Over time, we have seen that there is a need to consider succession planning more vigorously, since interest and circumstances in the lives of those volunteering takes place.

We need volunteers for research, planning, training, social media, fundraising, and special programs. As more people are diagnosed with CF there is a need for:

• more volunteers, 
• an adaptation of standards as new situations are experienced
• a revised business / strategic plan 
• improved operational procedures 
• fundraising opportunities via grants, donors, sponsors
• territorial expansion as other branches of the organization are required to fulfill the needs within the Caribbean
• increased medical access 

Networking opportunities are paramount. We interact with various organization that can point us in the direction of realizing aid. This aid is used to further empower our volunteers to function so that the ultimate beneficiaries, those affected by CF can benefit. 

No one likes to hear that they have a life threatening illness. There are a variety of emotions that accompany such a pronouncement. When further compounded that it can be misdiagnosed due to similarities with other respiratory illnesses like asthma, it can put families and loved ones into a tail spin of doubt and uncertainty.  

There's one thing that's certain. We are the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Barbados, and we are Aware to Care. 

Volunteers and Supporters can make a difference

If you missed July 4th, 2015 then you missed loads of fun. Our Fun Walk / Run was awesome. While we're still awaiting pictures to come in, we thought we'd share what we had so far right here. Check out these photos.

Fun seekers turned out in their droves. The shirts told the story with the walkers in yellow and the runners in blue; there were a lot of people. Corporate Barbados came out in full support of our cause. We even had some of our overseas supporters fly in for the event. Just saying that this event is growing by leaps and bounds.

Our local government ministers gave their support from a variety of angles. As an organization we sought to do things right, and therefore got approvals for everything from everyone that we needed to make contact with. To say it wasn't a lot of work would not do justice to the event.

Truth be told; we could not have done it if it weren't for our volunteers and supporters (including sponsors). When we get all of our lists rechecked we will put it up on our website. So keep on coming back, we should be able to do many more updates during the rest of the year as we get ready to gear up our planning for the next fund raiser - our now to be annual gala dinner and jazz evening.

Please keep on supporting us as we seek to help others with this illness. We are now getting overseas visitors who have Cystic Fibrosis (CF) making inquiries of us before planning their trip to the island.

Thank you one and all for your amazing support. We truly feel the blessings as we are sure to help those afflicted.

Why should you be Aware to Care?

...Because it could be you.

Here we are with 3 boys in little Bimshire, who are living with a condition nobody including medical doctors had a clue about before The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Barbados was a thing. Can you imagine being sick and not a doctor in your country can tell you anything about what's wrong with you? Worse yet, your child?

Not to worry though, CFFB is here and we want you to be Aware to Care. Simply because even though you may not think it affects you, knowledge of the symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis can help save a life, through correct diagnosis, appropriate and requisite care as well as support of those who are familiar with the condition and its effects.

The least we can do is support each other so bring your families and come to the Aware to Care 5K Walk on Saturday, 4th July, 2015. Registration fees are $25 for adults and $15 for children. You can register here. Help us to raise funds to provide support for families living with Cystic Fibrosis, and move towards having our own Caribbean treatment centre, with our own Caribbean doctors.

Come down and have some fun. Let our boys know that you support them in their fight with Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is we t'ing!

Volunteers - Youth and Finance

Barbados has hope! This statement is due to the caring nature of some of our youth and financial institutions. We at The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Barbados [Cffb] can say this is true, because we have experienced it.

The youth of The St. Michael School and the Frederick Smith Secondary School have joined the volunteer forces of the Cffb as they are preparing their major fundraising initiative for 2015 where proceeds go towards helping the growing numbers of families affected by Cystic Fibrosis [CF]. These youth will be participating in a variety of ways to realize this and will be given certificates for the initiatives within which they participate. This is because the Cffb believes in recognizing the efforts of their supporters, and volunteers are no exception. The volunteer efforts of these students go towards their high school certification on their curriculum.

Corporate entities are more focused on giving back to society, and they are not doing so because they have to, but they genuinely enjoy helping. For this we are thankful at the Cffb, since Royal Bank of Canada [RBC] has graciously offered and tangibly supported our efforts of building awareness and building funds to help those afflicted with CF. We have had a phenomenal time sharing with their team mates who participated in our outreach efforts, and thank them for putting their shoulders alongside ours and really serving. RBC we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with you and we want to publicly thank you for your support, especially when we recognize that you had choices of organizations that you could have chosen to serve. We have found RBC to be an organization that cares. The actions of these groups cements it in our minds that Barbados has hope!

What did you just say?!?!

The words in this title echo around the world from people who have never met and yet have something in common; they just received bad news from their doctor. In our peculiar instance, it relates to Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a genetic illness that throws the families of those diagnosed into a tail spin. 

Many have never heard about it, and not knowing what to expect are faced with a slew of emotions. There's no prior warning that their family member who was experience respiratory challenges could have CF, they thought it might have been just asthma.

We are Aware to Care! This is the motto of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Barbados (Cffb). We do so via a number of awareness building programs, including fundraisers.

Though we have been around for some time as an organization, we've only truly emerged to the public during the last year when we had our first fundraising walk which was followed up by our gala dinner earlier this year, while interspersed with awareness campaigns in the malls, health fairs, and even the university.

Have we really made a difference? Not in the way that we would like to since we believe that there are a number of people who are unaware of the condition since it is quite close to asthma.

Last year's symposiums was an eye opener for the public and the medical fraternity, where health care providers from the USA who are specialists in providing treatment came and shared their experiences with us in Barbados.

In Barbados, there is no one really certified to provide the quality care needed for this illness. We're hoping to make a difference by enabling those interested to become certified.

CF is quite expensive to care for, especially for local families. The medication is not readily available on island and has to be imported. No two people who have it and are not of the same family should be in close proximity as they can contaminate each other and it can prove fatal to them. Special care is needed in all instances including medical emergencies like hurricanes.

Our volunteer base is growing but there's still a need for more people since there's quite a bit to do. We would welcome your help in any way you can. Please visit our website for more details at www.cfbarbados.org.