6500 Red Roses: Hope to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis

Welcome

My name is Bob Bendz and 6500redroses.com is a project of love and hope: the love for my daughter Maggie-Faye who was born with Cystic Fibrosis, and the hope that a cure for Cystic Fibrosis will be found in her lifetime.

With photography being a passion of mine, it seemed appropriate that this be the medium in which I contribute to awareness of Cystic Fibrosis, and donations to Cystic Fibrosis Research, Inc. (CFRI). Located in Mountain View, California, CFRI exists to fund research, to provide educational and personal support, and to spread awareness of Cystic Fibrosis, a life-threatening genetic disease.

The goal is to collect photographs of 6500 people: sixty-five different categories, 100 people per category. Categories include: Brothers, Sisters, Families, Friends, Sports Fans, Artists, etc. Each image will represent a thoughtful donation given by people who also want to see a cure for this life-threatening disease that affects 25,000 to 30,000 people in the United States. Below is my inspiration behind photographing 6,500 roses together with the people who care...

Maggie-Faye Bendz
October 2006

65 Roses^® Story

65 Roses^® is what some children with CF call their disease because the words are much easier for them to pronounce. Mary G. Weiss became a volunteer for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in 1965 after learning that her three little boys had CF. Her duty was to call every civic club, social and service organization seeking financial support for CF research. Mary's 4-year old son, Richard, listened closely to his mother as she made each call. After several calls, Richard came into the room and told his Mom, "I know what you are working for." Mary was dumbstruck because Richard did not know what she was doing, nor did he know that he had cystic fibrosis. With some trepidation, Mary posed the question, "What am I working for, Richard?" "You are working for 65 Roses," he answered so sweetly. Mary was speechless. She went over to him and tenderly pressed his body to hers. He could not see the tears running down Mary's cheeks as she stammered, "Yes Richard, I'm working for 65 Roses."

For 34 years, sixty-five roses has been used by children of all ages to describe their disease. But making it easier to say, does not make CF any easier to live with. The 65 Roses story has captured the hearts and emotions of all who have heard it.

It is this story, along with the red rose’s symbolism of passion, desire and love that makes this a project of 6500 red roses. Once I have all 6500 photographs, I want to publish a book with all net proceeds of the sales going to CFRI.

NOTE: 65 Roses® is a registered trademark of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

My Story

After discovering that my wife Holly was pregnant in January 2006, we went for our first prenatal visit. A very simple question was asked at this appointment – Since you are both of European decent, do you want to be tested and see if you are a carrier for Cystic Fibrosis? Not even knowing what CF was, we said yes thinking nothing of it. Soon after we found out Holly was one of the 10 million symptom-less carriers of CF. Then, after a simple blood test, I found out I was also a carrier. With both of us being carriers, we had a 25% chance of our child being born with CF. After receiving genetic counseling, we decided to have a Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) - a prenatal test that detects chromosomal abnormalities such as Cystic Fibrosis. During the 16th week of the pregnancy, we found out that we were having a girl, and that she had Cystic Fibrosis. We named her Maggie-Faye, dived into educating ourselves about the disease and never looked back. By the time Maggie-Faye was born on September 3, 2006, we felt as prepared as possible…and ready to shower her with love! CFRI was and still is there for us, providing the education, networking and support that are part of their mission statement, and the reason we were armed with information for Maggie-Faye’s arrival.

Having obtained an Applied Art & Design degree with an emphasis in photography from California Polytechnic State University, I feel compelled to tell a story in pictures; a story of people helping to save lives and finding a cure for CF. No matter if you have CF, know someone that has CF or simply feel passionate about the cause, it is my hope that you will make a donation to CFRI, pick up and hold a red rose and smile for the camera…knowing your actions can bring hope to families such as mine.

Learn how to participate in the project...