February is here and my heart is filled with so much happiness.  The first of the month is so important here at It’s Just Life because it is the day each month that I reveal how much your comments have raised for the cause of the month and reveal the new Comments for a Cause.  Chris and I have pledged to donate 50 cents per comment (cap of $500) each month to the cause.

This past month we have been learning about ectodermal dysplasias. It is an inherited disorder that involves defects in the hair, nails, sweat glands and teeth. When a person has at least two types of abnormal ectodermal features—for example, malformed teeth and extremely sparse hair—the individual is identified as being affected by ectodermal dysplasia.  This month all of our focus has been on the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias and their efforts.  Chris and I will be  making a donation of $1 per comment this month instead of the usual 50 cents so  $233 will be going to NFED and I am thrilled to have learned a little bit more about this great organization. Thank you to all who have commented throughout the month on all my posts.

Have you ever heard of Cupid’s Undie Run?  Well, I hadn’t until I met my North Iowa Blogger friend Loni who blogs at Lifestyles of the Pantsless last year.  She has Neurofibromatosis and this is a fundraiser that she has spearheaded in Mason City, Iowa in an effort to raise awareness and funds to help with research and more.  Loni is a pretty amazing gal, let me tell you, and her efforts to make the Cupid’s Undie Run in Mason City a “fun”-draiser have been amazing and surpassed a lot of expectations.  I know it has a lot to do with Loni being such a fun person.

I asked Loni to give me a little bit of info about what Cupid’s is and what Neurofibromatosis is all about and she happily sent me the following:

Cupid’s is the #1 donor of the Children’s Tumor Foundation, and the purpose of the foundation is to research and find a cure for Neurofibromatosis (a Genetic Disorder I have) where tumors grow along your nerves all over your body. It has the potential to cause someone to be blind, deaf, or have learning disabilities. Tumors are known to become cancerous. There are thousands of different mutations of NF and tons of other medical conditions that stem from the disorder, no two cases are the same.

Cupid’s has raised over $8 million Nation Wide since it’s inception in 2010, with Mason City contributing over $100,000 in the past two years. Mason City is the smallest city by far to host the event but we are literally neck and neck with some of the largest cities who partake (in terms of fundraising and # of participants.)

Just this month CTF was able to grant the University of Iowa Children’s hospital $1.7 Million to their NF clinic (the only NF clinic in Iowa) to research and understand more about NF. I believe that Cupid’s was a large contributor in that, and thanks to new clinical trials that just began last fall, patients participating have reported a decrease in size of their tumors from 22%-27%.

Cupids was started in 2010 in Washington DC by Chad Leather and Bobby Gill, Chad’s brother had Schwanomatosis (the 3rd and worst form of NF) and unfortunately passed away this summer. It started because they wanted to raise awareness about NF and thought it would really raise eyebrowns to run past the White House in their undies. They thought they would have 50 participants but 600 showed up that day and Cupid’s Undie Run was born.

That’s my friend Amy Hild  in the white shirt in the picture above.  Amy had a zest for life and ran the Cupid’s Undie Run last year for the first time.  Tragically Amy was killed in an automobile accident a few short weeks after this event and a team has been formed to run in her memory this year.  #AmysGift has 6 team members at this point and will be running in the Mason City event on February 13th at Music Man Square in Mason City, Iowa. While I won’t be there in person  ( I would be running panting  walking) you can bet I will be there in spirit and lending my support.  That is why I decided this month would be the perfect month to support Cupid’s Undie Run and their support of the Children’s Tumor Foundation.

For each and every comment made on any post during the month of February we will make a 50 cent donation to help with research and awareness of Neurofibromatosis through Cupid’s Undie Run.  Your comments matter. Thank you in advance for your comments.  If you would like to make your own contribution please feel free to click on #AmysGift and support one of these participants.