Mission 

In honor of two brothers, Tony and Michael Gaddes, the Gaddes Foundation intends to help those living with and affected by Cystic Fibrosis (CF) through:

• Informing the public about CF, including its cause, treatments, and eventual cure.
• Raising money to fund research aimed at preventing and curing CF.
• Encouraging organ donation (an important treatment of CF).
• Promoting access to higher education for those with CF.  

Objectives 

In order to make our vision a reality, the Gaddes Foundation aims to:

• Develop, plan, and hold events with the goal of raising money to fund CF research and scholarships for individuals living with CF to attend institutions of higher education.
• Increase awareness of organ donation and provide opportunities to register as an organ donor.
• Use social media to inform the public about Cystic Fibrosis, including its cause, treatments, and eventual cure.
• Collaborate with other like-minded groups/individuals in order to create a network of support, information, events, and resources.

Values

As a group of individuals who seek to honor the legacies left by Tony and Michael, we hold the following values:

• Family—The impact of having of CF extends far and wide by affecting parents, siblings, partners, cousins, friends, co-workers, teammates, and so on. Thus, we value creating and maintaining a big “family,” individuals who comprise a network of support, healthy-living, and laughter.    
• Self-Care—While we recognize the importance of having a large “family” for those living with and/or affected by CF, we also understand that much of the day-to-day “work” of living with CF involves performing mundane—and sometimes tedious—tasks and procedures (taking medicines, performing breathing treatments, driving to doctor’s appointments, monitoring diet, etc). With this in mind, we value and encourage taking care of one’s own physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
• Optimism and a Sense of Humor—We value optimism and humor as a counter to the challenges posed by CF. Indeed, as the old saying goes, laughter just might be the best medicine.
• Advocacy—Because the stakes of living or loving someone with CF are so high, we value speaking-up both for ourselves and our “families” in order to provide support, opportunities, and a future without CF.