Inspired, Brave, Determined. Those three words are the mantra of millions of people world-wide who are challenged and suffering from Crohn’s Disease and Colitis.
Regrettably, those three letters also stand for Irritable Bowel Disease.
This story begins with four Lower Merion High School students in the academic year 2006-2007. All four, all Latin students, decided to launch the first-ever Main Line student fashion & design show open to students from all schools.
Their names were Maddie Bailis, Aaron Ginsberg, Laura Piccoli, and Jenny Smolen. Maddie was in charge of the fashion part, Jenny handled publicity, Aaron was our tech and audio guy, and Laura researched a non-profit which we would support, with Teen Learning Community as the sponsor.
It took Laura no time to figure out that putting our efforts toward helping the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation would be our focus, especially because, at the time, the disease rate was climbing among adolescents.
You probably know someone who has been diagnosed with either Crohn’s disease or colitis, and you can comprehend the potential of the re-designed abbreviation IBD as Inspired, Brave, and Determined.
Those four Lower Merion students, with the help of Lindsay Taylor, Lower Merion Parks and Recreation Director at the time, planned for a fashion & design show to be staged at the Ludington Library gazebo and green space, with the spring house as a pre-show prep area.
Soon, we found out that designers from Shipley and Lower Merion were eager to participate.
Blessed with a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in May 2007 and preceded by a delicious lunch at a Bryn Mawr restaurant near the firehouse and within walking distance of Ludington, VOIL !, we had a glorious show.
For school year 2021-22, Radnor High School’s Kaitlyn May is the Student-Director, following in the footsteps of Abby Cooper, RHS Class of 2020, who managed the 2019 show and was onboard during the early steps for the 2020 COVID-canceled show.
Since the start of the F&D Show in 2007, previous Student-Directors have been Samantha Raymond (Harriton), Claire DeVerter (Harriton), Grace McDonald (Friends’ Central), Suzy Sergott (Harriton), and, as mentioned, Maddie Bailis, assisted by Lauren Piccoli, Aaron Ginsberg, and Jenny Smolen (Lower Merion).
Of course, in the intervening years, students from many high schools on the Main Line have showcased their talents, and much research supported by the dollars of thousands of other students, families, individuals, and businesses has happened.
In the July 2021 summer email blast, Michael Osso, President and CEO of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation gives an update:
“As chronic conditions of the digestive tract, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis symptoms are often impacted by what you eat. Nevertheless, we do not yet have a full picture of the exact role that food can play in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
“Our Precision Nutrition Initiative is seeking the answers. Bringing together researchers from across the globe, we are making unprecedented investments in new projects to unlock a deeper understanding of the relationship between IBD and diet.
“Researchers with the Precision Nutrition Initiative are working to evaluate the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory diets and to pinpoint the biomarkers of IBD-linked responses to food.
“In addition, research will identify the dietary triggers of a relapse in symptoms, and develop artificial intelligence tools to predict responses to food and design new diets.
“Each one of these projects is meant to complement the other, providing a piece of the precision nutrition puzzle.
“Ultimately, the Precision Nutrition Initiative aims to enable personalized dietary recommendations to IBD patients that will relieve symptoms and help to achieve remission.
“Recently, the Foundation funded the DINE-CD study which explored the impact of the Mediterranean style diet and Specific Carbohydrate DietTM on IBD symptoms.”
Now a development campaign is underway and all gifts to the Crisis Recovery Fund will be matched by a generous donor, dollar-for-dollar, up to a total of $150,000 through September 7, with details available at crohnscolitisfoundation.org
Michael Osso urges, “Become a member of the Foundation community and please give today so that your contribution will DOUBLE in size to support the Foundation!”
Realize the beauty of the other words associated with the initials IBD – Inspired, Brave, Determined.
