CHESTER SPRINGS, PA — A Chester Springs family raised nearly $50,000 this month through a backyard obstacle-course fundraiser benefiting people affected by Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, pushing organizer Mike Feehan’s fundraising over 17 years to nearly $500,000.
Feehan began raising money in honor of his son, Connor, who has CdLS, a rare genetic spectrum disorder that can affect growth, development, communication, behavior and multiple organ systems.
The fundraising effort originally centered on races Feehan ran himself. When the COVID-19 pandemic halted those events, he shifted the effort to his Chester Springs home, constructing a backyard obstacle course that Connor could participate in.
That change turned what had largely been Feehan’s individual endurance effort into a family event. Connor, now 18, participates alongside relatives as the family builds and runs the course together.
The latest fundraiser earlier this month generated close to $50,000 for the Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Foundation, according to information provided about the event.
The foundation supports people with CdLS and their families, with a focus on promoting early and accurate diagnosis and providing information to help families make decisions throughout their lives. Funds also support access to resources and expertise and efforts to advance research.
For the Feehan family, the backyard course has also changed Connor’s role in a fundraising tradition created in his honor. Instead of watching his father run miles to raise money, Connor can now participate directly in the event.
The cumulative fundraising — nearly half a million dollars over 17 years — illustrates the scale that a family-led effort can reach even after the pandemic disrupted its original format.
More information about Cornelia de Lange Syndrome and the foundation is available at https://www.cdlsusa.org.
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