Lungs4Life, an Omaha-based nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds for lung cancer research and awareness, has made its largest donation yet to the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
Over the course of 2017, Lungs4Life raised $27,500.
“When we started Lungs4Life just three years ago, it was with the hope that our organization would be able to raise monies for this underfunded disease while educating the community about the rise of lung cancer diagnoses among young, non-smokers,” said Leah Bochnicek, a lung cancer survivor and one of the founders of Lungs4Life. “The groundswell of support has grown year after year.”
Lungs4Life hosted a handful of fundraising and educational events throughout the year, including the Fairways FORE Airways Golf Tournament in August and the Farrell’s Extreme Bodyshaping Kick-a-Thon. The Regina Lewis Memorial Kick-a-thon, at the Farrell’s LaVista location, is a one-day event for anyone to work out with a variety of instructors and make a donation in support of lung cancer research.
“We’re honored to partner with the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center to expand research for the cancer with the highest fatality rate,” Bochnicek said. “Thank you to everyone in the community who made this possible. We hope to continue to grow and, in 2018, we have every intention of continuing the momentum so that our overall donation total will reach the $100,000 mark.”
Lungs4Life was created in April 2015 by Tim and Leah Bochnicek following Leah’s unexpected stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. Since then, the couple has dedicated their time and energy to supporting the work of researchers and raising awareness about the recent rise in non-smoking lung cancer.
Every donation directly benefits lung cancer research carried out by the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. In three short years, the foundation will have donated a grand total of $65,000.