I was blessed to learn through one of my blogger networks (thanks, CleverGirls!) about “Little Miss Techie” and her service project on behalf of a friend.

LMT’s best friend has Cystic Fibrosis.

Cystic Fibrosis

In her words:

“Cystic Fibrosis does not have a cure….CF (Cystic Fibrosis) you can’t catch.  You are born with it, but you are completely ordinary, and you can’t see or hear it.  It’s just there, and it [a]ffects 30,000 people in the U.S.”

In other words:

• Cystic Fibrosis is a chronic illness.  That is, it’s lifelong.
• Cystic Fibrosis is a “silent illness.”  That is, “you don’t look sick.” (This can be very frustrating, when people around you can’t understand why you “won’t” do what they can do. They can’t comprehend the physical limitations that are honestly caused by an illness that can’t be seen.)
• Cystic Fibrosis is not contagious, so you can hang out with someone who has CF and not worry about catching it.
• Cystic Fibrosis has no known cure.

That’s why this 10-year-old and her friend are raising money — to help fund research to seek a cure for this lung disease.

So she and her friend are making these lovely barrettes and selling them to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  (I had some barrettes like this when I was a very little girl!)  They make a great stocking stuffer, and you can order yours for $3 each plus shipping ($4 if you want metallic ribbon).  (You’ll get a PayPal invoice from Savvy Mama Media.)