May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness month, and Robb Elementary is raising awareness for this complex disease.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a complex genetic disorder that affects the lungs, pancreas and other organs. The symptoms experienced with CF differ widely from person to person, because of how unique this disease is. Close to 40,000 people in the U.S. have cystic fibrosis, and an estimated 1,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.

According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, when they were first established in 1955, children with CF were not expected to live long enough to attend elementary school. With the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s investments in research, people with CF are living well past that age — into their 40s and beyond.

Robb Elementary has two students who have been diagnosed with CF — Giovani Ferrar and Wyatt Hall.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Giovani is pictured hugging his little sister, Amelia, while waiting for high fives on the red carpet.

In honor of Wyatt and Giovani, staff and faculty wore purple for CF, and held a “tattoo a teacher/stick a staffulty” rally. Students could purchase temporary tattoos to “tattoo” a teacher or adult of their choice. Marie Snyder, Learning Support Teacher, was the mastermind behind the fun way to raise money.

There is no cure for CF, but fundraising plays a vital role in the continued progress in CF research. With fundraising, the community is able to invest in the future and help researchers get one step closer to a cure.

“There wasn’t one adult in this school who didn’t want to participate. Everybody was all-in. We want kids to realize everyone needs an extra hand when possible. We had students out here yesterday decorating the sidewalk with chalk. You can’t beat our staffulty,” Snyder said.

“We just want Wyatt and Giovani to know that we see them, we hear them and we love them. Marie Snyder made this all happen. It’s pretty cool how the school and community come together in all aspects,” said Principal Tyler Barth.

School Facilitator Brad McCloskey reiterated the school’s motto of ‘seen, heard and loved.’

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Giovani is pictured with his mom, Colleen George.

“A lot of kids don’t realize students even have Cystic Fibrosis. We have two kiddos here (at Robb) who are just like everybody else, but they have extra battles to overcome. They’re loving the tattoos. Anything that gets the kids talking about things is good,” McCloskey said.

Barth also noted that one of the substitute teachers, Erika Conklin, painted a picture for the event featuring 65 roses. In 1965, a little 4-year-old boy named Richard “Ricky” Weiss pronounced cystic fibrosis as “65 roses.”

Today, 65 roses is a term often used by young children with Cystic Fibrosis to pronounce the name of their disease.

Giovani’s grandmother, Jennifer, had a lot to say about her grandson’s disease and how Robb Elementary has handled it.

“I think it’s very nice that they do this because I don’t think a lot of people know about Cystic Fibrosis, what it entails and that there’s really no cure right now. They’re making great strides,” she said.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Mr. McCloskey shows off his many tattoos from students.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Pictured is a painting done by Erika Conklin for the event, featuring 65 roses. In 1965, a little 4-year-old boy named Richard “Ricky” Weiss pronounced Cystic Fibrosis as “65 roses” which has become a term often used by young children to pronounce their disease.