When I was expressing some frustration about my fundraising -- asking coworkers, relatives to participate in the walk or donate -- my MIL asked me if I really would be so involved with something like this if DS didn't have CF.
My response was, probably no, not CF 'cuz until DS was diagnosed, I didn't know anybody who had it -- all I knew was what I saw on an ER episode long long ago; However, I would still be involved with something -- friends and coworkers are involved with Relay for Life, we donate money to them each year, we probably would've eventually started to participate in their walks. Friend of mine bikes 1000 miles each summer for a charity thru his office, we sponsor him. If someone asks for help, we're always there to help -- whether it's volunteering, attending a spagetti feed, donating money....
Sure I'm a little disheartened when I send out letters and emails, but heck there are a lot of charities hitting people up for money these days, everyone had a cause near and dear to their hearts --- but what bothers me the most is when someone tells me "oh, yeah, I need to send you a check" or join the team and promise to volunteer, raise money... I'd just rather they didn't do that.