CLEVELAND, OH | January 29, 2025
Losing a loved one is always difficult. Such a loss forces one to reevaluate their once-held beliefs. For Brooke Alabaugh, a wife and mom, it was this shift in perspective that led her on a journey, finding a special interest in helping those with lung disease.
“Luckily, we all had each other. We were told we need to stay together and to cling to family first,” said Alabaugh when reflecting on what her late father had told her and her siblings before passing. “That made a huge impact on my life and how I did things.”
That’s why she’s participating in the Cleveland Fight For Air Climb at Key Tower on March 2nd; in memory of her late father.
Having grown up in a household with a father who was a lifelong smoker, Alabaugh and her siblings were used to the practice and even followed suit, becoming smokers themselves. However, after her father’s lung cancer diagnosis merely six weeks after her mother’s passing, things were put into perspective for Alabaugh, showing her that family was the most important thing and must be leaned on in the hardest of times.
Now a former smoker, Brooke Alabaugh thought of her father when she was first approached by her friend and former coworker about a stair climb fundraiser she was working on and asked if she would be a sponsor for it. Alabaugh is a realtor at Keller Williams Citywide, The EZ Sales Team. To donate to a cause that would help others who had gone through what her family had gone through with her father’s lung diagnosis, she was compelled to help in any way that she could.
Now, having been the 2024 event sponsor, Alabaugh is excited to be back supporting Cleveland’s Fight For Air Climb and, this year, as a presenting sponsor of the Firefighter Challenge with Rocco DeStefanis of Union Home Mortgage.
“I love how 90 cents of every dollar goes toward education, programs and research right here in Cleveland. To be able to use that much money for good is amazing. It aligns with where I want to donate my money,” when asked what makes so committed to support the American Lung Association and this event.
The 2025 Fight for Air Climb will be held at Key Tower March 2nd at 9:00am. It is an annual stair-climbing event held to support lifesaving research, local programs and advocacy for the 1.6 million people in Ohio suffering from lung disease.
The Lung Association encourages you and your friends and family to join us at this community event for celebration, education and comradery. Registration for individuals and teams is limited with a $35 advanced sales or $50 day of event registration fee and $100 fundraising minimum. Come support people with lung disease who are fighting for every breath.
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The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to champion clean air for all; to improve the quality of life for those with lung disease and their families; and to create a tobacco-free future. For more information about the American Lung Association, which has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and is a Platinum-Level GuideStar Member, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or visit: Lung.org. To support the work of the American Lung Association, find a local event at Lung.org/events.
For more information, contact:
James A. Martinez
(312) 445-2501
James.Martinez@Lung.org
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