Community Support Lifts Grit Run to Over $40,000 for CF Research
Having lived her entire life with cystic fibrosis – and beating the odds – research into the disease is obviously paramount for Kim Norvell. The same holds true for her husband, Jay, Colorado State’s head football coach.
What she’s found in a short time in Fort Collins is a community which has opened its arms and hearts to them, providing support and encouragement toward their efforts in funding research and creating awareness. They do so with the Grit Run, which was held for the second time Saturday in conjunction with the Rams’ annual Green and Gold spring camp, drawing camp to a close.
“I’m very pleased with the support we’ve received. I didn’t know what to expect the first year, and I didn’t think we’d get that many people registered, but I was so amazed by that first run,” Kim said. “Also, the amount of people who have come up to me and have acknowledged they know about it and what it means has been touching. They ask questions, and as long as I can spread information about what it is and how the research has changed our lifestyle and longevity and quality of life, that’s important to me.”
This year’s registered participants exceeded the 2022 total, helping the Norvell’s generate more than $40,000 for cystic fibrosis research to continue to help fund research Kim knows has extended her life and improved its quality.
A large chunk of those proceeds are coming directly from a Colorado State standout, Ryan Yoder.
Yoder, who up until this season held the assists record for the men’s basketball program, earned a $15,000 grant through his financial company and he felt the best place for the money was to donate it to the Grit Run. To him, it was only natural. Not just because of his time with Colorado State, but for the reason why he earned the grant.
By raising money for the CF Foundation for more than a decade.
Currently the boys basketball coach at Resurrection Christian School, the Yoder Christmas Basketball Camp has raised more than $100,000 given directly to the CF Foundation since the camp debuted in 2010.
“We started running the Yoder Christmas Basketball camp, which my wife, Erika, has done a lot for since 2010, and we started giving all the proceeds to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, all of it through registration and fees,” Ryan said. “That first camp we had about 100 campers and raised $8,150, and since then, I believe we’ve hit a high of $14,000. We raised more than $100,000 through that camp.
“I know Coach Norvell and his wife have a connection and a passion to do the same, so it made sense after meeting him. I have a great fondness and gratefulness to Colorado State for all that’s given to me, as well as a passion about cystic fibrosis and finding a cure, as well. I think the most important thing for us is to bring greater awareness to the cause. We want to better the lives of everybody with cystic fibrosis, and ultimately, find a cure. It’s exciting, because it sounds like we’re getting very, very close.”
When the Norvell’s learned of the gift, they were beyond grateful. And humbled.
Kim is not one who is shy with her words, particularly about the subject of cystic fibrosis research and the gains which have been made in her lifetime. For her particularly, it was the development of the drug, trikafta, which she attributes to improving her quality of life. She will openly talk about living with survivor’s guilt, particularly remembering her youth and going to camps with others her age afflicted with the disease, many of whom she knows have since passed. Year by year, she’s hearing about more success stories, knowing herself she is a prime example.
When others are just as generous with their time and aid, it touches her.
“Those things literally excite me. When people can understand how important fundraising is for this disease and know all the money goes into research which funds trikafta, which changed my life when I started it two years ago; it literally changed my whole life,” Kim said. “The research goes to fund these drugs, and that’s what’s enabled me to live this long. I’m forever indebted to the CF Foundation for raising the funds to create these drugs for me, and it wouldn’t be done without that.”
Ryan is just as appreciative of the work the Norvell’s have done, not just in Fort Collins, but in the past.
He said he’s met with the couple just once, but the meeting was impactful for him, and he hopes it is a relationship which will continue to grow through the bonds of a likeminded desire to help others.
“I’d like to get to know them better. I’ve talked to Coach Norvell once, and I brought up our common connection and told him we should stay connected and figure out ways to go forward, how we can partner together,” Ryan said. “Thankfully I have a great connection to the football program through Nick Stevens and his wife, Haley, who has worked with me for five years, and they’ve helped spearhead that connection.”
As is always the case with the Grit Run, the Norvell’s are making a $15,000 donation themselves, but this time they are branching out to where the gift goes. Instead of to the CF Foundation directly, they are keeping it on campus to help Dr. Jennifer Mueller, a professor on campus whose work is also aiding patients. The Norvell’s met her this summer and were thrilled to find out their impactful research was being done just down the street from Canvas Stadium.
Their gift will fund three graduate students this summer who are helping Dr. Mueller with her work.
“When we were invited there, I didn’t know one thing about her research,” Kim said. “She spoke to me in layman’s terms I could understand clearly, and when I didn’t understand, I’d contact her, and she would do a one-on-one with me. That’s why it’s exciting to me to be able to help her. As a person, she’s genuinely nice – and obviously brilliant. We need exactly that kind of innovation in this fight.”
