Augie Alumni Spotlight

Ashley Ballou-Bonnema ('09) is a professional musician and founder of Breathe Bravely, a non-profit organization dedicated to giving voice to cystic fibrosis.  Using her personal experiences Ashley created sINgSPIRE as a way to use singing to combat CF, pairing individuals from around the world who have CF with voice instructors for virtual singing lessons.  Ashley, her husband, Mark, and their two dogs live in Sioux Falls.
sINgSPIRE is a virtual choir composed of members who have cystic fibrosis.  Members of all ages from around the world join in a choral experience to find community with one another and combat the harmful effects of CF through singing.
The Ripple of Words is a compilation of letters, writings, and poems from the members of sINgSPIRE and published through Breathe Bravely.  This work gives inspiration and understanding from people with cystic fibrosis to others in the CF community and anyone who needs uplifting messages. Blank pages allow the reader to pen their own contributions. The entries are titled by days 1-30 reminding readers to take life one day at a time - and to breathe.

Connect with Breathe Bravely and sINgSPIRE through breathebravely.org

 @BreatheBravely   Breathe Bravely    @breathe_bravely