Keiser University received a National Award for Superior Volunteer Efforts in the Community from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF).

The CFF recognized Keiser University’s unique fundraising effort, designated “Freedom to Live, Freedom to Fly,” that offered actual butterfly cocoons for a donation. The butterflies would hatch over time, symbolizing the birth of new possibilities for people living with cystic fibrosis. The campaign raised $50,000 and resulted in hundreds of butterflies being hatched and released across the state of Florida, including at elementary schools in each of Keiser University’s campus communities that received donated cocoons. The Keiser effort was part of an event led by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who is the honorary chairman of the annual Jeb Bush Florida Classic, which raised $1 million in 2006 for cystic fibrosis research.