MARYSVILLE — Two Marysville moms want the community to know that cystic fibrosis is an issue that hits close to home.

Brandy Krug and Kelsie Dry are both mothers to children with cystic fibrosis, and as an employee of the Tulalip Resort, Dry was able to secure the Tulalip Amphitheatre, located at 10400 Quil Ceda Blvd., as a venue for a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation “Great Strides” fundraising walk July 17, with a 9 a.m. check-in and a 10 a.m. start time.

In the meantime, Krug and Dry are also hoping to raise funds with “Glow Bowling” for cystic fibrosis at the Evergreen Lanes, located at 5111 Claremont Way in Everett, June 19 from 2-4 p.m. at a cost of $15 per adult and $10 per child.

Those who wish to take part in the Glow Blowing event need to RSVP by calling Krug at 425-343-9447, while those who wish to walk at the Great Strides in Tulalip need to register online at http://greatstrides.cff.org. Krug promised that the walk will also include kids’ games, a live DJ, complimentary lunches, a silent auction and raffle prizes.

Last year, Krug and Dry only had 30 days to organize their local Great Strides walk, but they still managed to generate $10,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This year, in spite of a planning and sponsorship solicitation period that began in January, Krug admitted that they’re having trouble meeting their fundraising goals.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that not only causes mucus to build up in the sufferer’s lungs and block their airways, but also weakens their immune system and shortens their life expectancy. Krug noted that the current median life expectancy for those with cystic fibrosis is about 38 years old, which marks dramatic progress from a few decades ago, when “most children who were diagnosed with it didn’t even make it to elementary school.” How long a child with cystic fibrosis might live depends to an extent on which mutation of the disease they’re afflicted with, although Krug emphasized that doctors tend to be “very vague” when diagnosing a sufferer’s life expectancy, since “it doesn’t mean you can’t live past that. People don’t have expiration dates.”

Last year, Krug’s then-6-year-old daughter, Brenna, became the subject of a high-profile national debate, when U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., spoke to her fellow members of Congress on C-SPAN Jan. 28, 2009, about the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and cited Brenna as one of the millions of uninsured, low-income children nationwide whose healthcare costs are covered by CHIP. This year, Brenna’s mother hopes to attract sponsors for the Great Strides fundraiser at Tulalip with benefits such as prominent placement of their logos and brand names on fliers, T-shirts and signage for the walk, as well as thank-you letters that will be sent to the media.

“I realize that business is still slow, but our children can’t just wait for the economy to get better,” Krug said. “Not my daughter, nor Kelsie’s 3-year-old son, Keldan, nor anyone else. I personally know of at least 10 children in Snohomish County who have cystic fibrosis. It’s one in every 2,500 live births. That’s 30,000 in the United States alone. If we can help them out, it’ll leave everyone better off.”

For more information, you may e-mail Dry at keldan2006@comcast.net or Krug at brandy.krug@yahoo.com. You may also log onto Krug’s website for Brenna at www.cff.org/great_strides/brandykrug6948.