Jennifer and good friends Mark Jeng, Quinney Fu, Cady Pisani, Neeraj Gupta, and Anthony Pasceri have set up a FirstGiving page to raise funds for CAF as part of their participation in the Marathon.  (Click here to visit their page to learn more - and to donate to the fight against thalassemia.)

"I wanted to help out CAF because  Meghan Foe (who has thalassemia) is one of my sister's best friends," Jennifer says. "I have watched her grow up from a little girl to an incredibly smart, kind, and talented young teenager. And, although she appears to be a normal thirteen year-old, she is quite unique in that she has Cooley's anemia. Few people know about this disorder, and I wanted to raise more awareness about it around my campus and my group of friends. The more people hear about CAF and know about it, the more willing they will be to help out in the future."

"I think we are helping to raise a bit more awareness about Cooley's anemia," she adds. "I hope that, next year, we will be able to better establish a fundraising and advocacy plan to further inform others about CAF."

Meaghan's father, Antoni, appreciates the thoughtfulness of Jennifer and her friends.  "I am grateful that Jennifer and her friends are keeping Cooley’sanemia/thalassemia patients in their minds," he says.

CAF thanks Jennifer, Mark, Quinney, Cady, Neeraj and Anthony for their willingness to support CAF and the thalassemia community. 

Individual fundraising efforts such as this are crucial to helping CAF maintain its programs.  Because of the current economic climate, there is a great need to increase fundraising efforts for CAF, and FirstGiving personal fund raising pages are an excellent way to help. To learn more about these personal fund raising pages, or about how you as an individual can help CAF, contact Alyssa Youngerman, CAF National Fundraiser, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (212) 279-8090.