Paper Style is proud to support Quest for Breath and Reaching for the Stars. To learn more about these organizations and their efforts, please read below and follow the links!

Quest for Breath

Quest for Breath is an organization created to raise money for the Martin Edward Galvin Fund for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Research at the University of Michigan Health System’s Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.

Just as there are four points on a pinwheel logo, Quest for Breath's goals are fourfold: to raise money for research efforts, to raise awareness about this seriously under-diagnosed disease, to give hope to IPF patients, and to create a community for families touched by IPF.

What is Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis?
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a form of pulmonary fibrosis with no known cause. It involves the progressive scarring of lung tissue that blocks the ability to breathe. IPF affects an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 patients in the U.S. alone. It is very difficult to diagnose and often is missed for months or sometimes years before being recognized.

www.questforbreath.org

Reaching for the Stars

Reaching for the Stars (RFTS) is a tax-exempt, national non-profit organization, committed to advocacy, education and driving research to serve the needs of children with Cerebral Palsy and those parents and care givers involved in their care..

What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy is a term used to describe a group of chronic conditions affecting body movement and muscle coordination. It is caused by damage to one or more specific areas of the brain, usually occurring during fetal development; before, during, or shortly after birth; or during infancy. Thus, these disorders are not caused by problems in the muscles or nerves. Instead, faulty development or damage to motor areas in the brain disrupt the brain's ability to adequately control movement and posture.

"Cerebral" refers to the brain and "palsy" to muscle weakness/poor control. Cerebral palsy itself is not progressive (i.e. brain damage does not get worse); however, secondary conditions, such as muscle spasticity, can develop which may get better over time, get worse, or remain the same. Cerebral palsy is not communicable. It is not a disease and should not be referred to as such. Although cerebral palsy is not yet "curable" in the accepted sense, training and therapy can help improve function and many promising therapies and treatments are currently being investigated. The goals of RFTS, Inc. are to foster that research and commit to help discover promising new treatments for CP.

www.reachingforthestars.org