Taylor Bell '11

When my grandmother passed from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2012, my dad and I decided to honor her memory by participating in the American Lung Association's Fight for Air Climb. In 2013, I decided to climb in Pittsburgh where I am completing my bachelor's at Carnegie Mellon University. I fundraised just over the $100 minimum and took one friend. In 2015, I got CMU's volleyball team involved in the event, both as volunteers and climbers, and raised over $1,200. This year's climb is March 19th. I have a team of 16. My team for the event is composed of volleyball, soccer and football athletes as well as coaching staff. We also have a few players in physical therapy that will attend as volunteers. More than two weeks out from the event, we have already raised over $2,000. The funds raised for this event help the American Lung Association provide community based education programs, fight for cleaner air standards and fund life-saving research. My teammates and I have all chosen to compete as elite climbers. This means we will be tasked with climbing 45 flights of stairs in under 12 minutes. This sheds light on what it feels like to be unable to breathe. Though it is brief, this experience is enough to bring me back to fight for this cause every year, because no one should struggle to breathe.