2011 Save the Cherubs Video

Save the Cherubs

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Campaign

http://www.savethecherubs.org/

Cherubs are everywhere. They are your next door neighbor's new baby. The little girl on the swingset at the park. The teenager that sits behind your son in high school geometry class. The person behind you in the grocery store line. Their scars are hidden under clothes, their stories a bit sad and taboo to talk about - so the miracles are not seen with the naked eye and you have probably mistaken a cherub for a "normal" person many times. But they are there; walking miracles with invisible wings. And missing babies that belong to the grieving parents who you don't see grieve; your local bank teller, the man who held a door for you at the gas station, the old woman who drove the car in front of you at the stop light this morning. Cherubs are everywhere.

Unless you have been affected personally by CDH, you probably have never heard of it. The mission of "Save the Cherubs" is to make Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia a phrase everyone knows how to say and everyone knows what it means. By raising awareness, we hope to raise research funds to save these babies - Save the Cherubs.

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia occurs when the diaphragm fails to fully form, allowing abdominal organs into the chest cavity and preventing lung growth. Babies born with CDH often endure long hospitalizations and other complications such as pulmonary hypertension, infections, feeding issues, asthma and temporary developmental delay. Some babies develop worse complications and sadly, 50% of babies born with CDH do not survive. The cause of CDH is not known.

Cherubs are people who were born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, a severe and often fatal birth defect that occurs as often as Cystic Fibrosis and Spina Bifida. Every 10 minutes a baby is born with CDH - adding up to over half a million babies since 2000. Yet, CDH is given very little media attention, virtually no research money and until CHERUBS came along in 1995 there was no information and no support for families of babies diagnosed with CDH. We have no national telethons, no large corporate sponsorships. We have been struggling for years to bring attention to CDH and now, we are going to do so on a national level.

For 16 years, cherubs have been the awareness symbol of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH). Through this project, families around the world are working with CHERUBS, photographers and the media to raise CDH awareness in a unique and striking photo and marketing campaign, which we hope will take your breath away and make you want to learn more about CDH and how you can help save these children.

CHERUBS - The Association of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research, Awareness and Support was founded in 1995 to give hope and information to families of children affected by Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH). We are a 501(c)III non-profit global CDH organization with members in 38 countries. CHERUBS strives to allow families to have free access to information materials, support services, awareness projects and to make a CDH connection with other families going through the same ordeal. We are just a grassroots organization of families working hard to make a difference and trying to give Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness wings to take flight.
CHERUBS is fighting hard to search for the cause, prevention and best treatments of CDH. We invite you to help us to help these families and to help Save The Cherubs.
http://www.savethecherubs.org/