Claire Wineland Speaks at BBYO International Convention

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24, 2016 -- Claire Wineland, 18-year-old founder of Claire's Place Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing support to children and families affected by cystic fibrosis, spoke to more than 4,000 teen leaders, educators, professionals and philanthropists from across the world at the BBYO International Convention (IC) 2016 in Baltimore. Claire shared the stage with Jane the Virgin star Justin Baldoni to share her passion for living a fulfilling and beautiful life with cystic fibrosis.

"Claire is one of the most mind-blowingly brilliant, bright lights I have ever met in my life," said Actor Justin Baldoni. "The hardship and adversity she has been through, coupled with her candescent and fiery youthful spirit has brought forth an anomaly that creates an almost instant relief and joy in your heart when you listen to her speak. There are very few people you meet in this world whom you know have a great destiny to inspire and create change, and I am so honored to be able to call this little stick of inspirational dynamite my friend. I would share a stage with her and be her 'hype man' any day and anywhere. It's a supreme privilege to have her in my life. " 

"This event was incredible, a once in a lifetime experience! I received so much love and enthusiasm from the attendees and the organizers of the BBYO International Convention," said Claire's Place Foundation Founder Claire Wineland. "It was a huge honor and a dream to share a stage with Justin, he is an inspiration to me and has such a big heart. And, I had a ball sharing my story about living a beautiful life not in spite of cystic fibrosis but because of it. Thank you to BBYO for the privilege!"

The eventwas a dynamic meeting place and real-world classroom for Jewish teen community leaders. The convention focused on various communities, organizations and individuals coming together to provide teen leaders with insights gained from their own experiences, shared leadership resources and skills to use to change the world.
 
In addition to benefitting from the exceptional group of speakers and guests, IC 2016 participants practiced peer leadership and experiential democracy, broke a Guinness World Record by joining together for the largest Shabbat dinner ever, all while doing their part to further a strong Jewish future.

About Claire's Place Foundation, Inc.

Claire's Place Foundation, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization providing support to children and families affected by cystic fibrosis (CF). Claire's Place Foundation is named in honor of Claire Wineland, now a teenager, who has been living with CF her entire life. The foundation provides grants to families affected by CF, offering both emotional and financial support. A young author of bestseller "Every Breath I Take, Surviving and Thriving with Cystic Fibrosis," Claire's unique inspirational model for people living with this disease has led her to be a TEDx Speaker and receive multiple awards including Seventeen Magazine's "17 Power Teens" of 2016, Fox Teen Choice Awards 2015, Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, Southbay Magazine's "Top 10 South Bay Teen", Looking Beyond LA's "Soaring Spirit Award," and winner of Los Angeles Business Journal's "Small Nonprofit of the Year." She has been featured on Inside Edition, The Dr. Oz Show, CNN, Huffington Post, ABC News, Cosmopolitan, People, Ladies' Home Journal and more. Claire's Place Foundation is a way for Claire to give back with hope, strength, and joy and make meaning of what she has had to go through. For more information and make a donation, please visit www.clairesplacefoundation.org.

About BBYO

BBYO is the leading pluralistic Jewish teen movement aspiring to involve more Jewish teens in more meaningful Jewish experiences. For more than 90 years, BBYO's leadership programs the Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA, high school fraternity) and the B'nai B'rith Girls (BBG, high school sorority) have been providing exceptional leadership programs and identity enrichment experiences, shaping the confidence and character of more than 400,000 alumni who are among the most prominent figures in business, politics, academia, the arts and Jewish communal life.  Now, BBYO's network of Jewish teens, alumni, parents, volunteers and philanthropists serves as the Jewish community's most valuable platform for delivering to the post Bar/Bat Mitzvah audience fun, meaningful and affordable experiences.  With year-round activities in hundreds of local communities and inspiring world-wide travel experiences, BBYO's broad program menu enables teens to explore areas of leadership, service, civic engagement, Israel education and Jewish values.

CONTACT: Carrie Callahan
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