Meet Aubin Lentz

The inspiration for The Charleston CF Bites Foundation.

CF Bites was created in honor of Aubin Lentz, a spirited and fearless little girl from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. In December of 2020, at just four years old, Aubin was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF), a progressive genetic disease that primarily affects the lungs and digestive system. Since then, she has taken over 13,000 enzyme pills to help her body absorb nutrients, spent more than 600 hours in her airway clearance vest to keep her lungs clear, and received over 1,200 doses of Trikafta, a groundbreaking CF medication. To those who meet her, Aubin looks like any other energetic child—proof of the life-changing progress made possible through research, treatments, and fundraising.

But Aubin’s story is not just about perseverance—it’s the heartbeat behind CF Bites. The foundation exists to raise awareness, fund critical research, and stand alongside families who face the challenges of CF every single day. We are driven by the belief that no child’s life should be cut short by this disease, and that with enough support, innovation, and determination, we can make CF stand for Cure Found.

Since its beginning, CF Bites has brought together neighbors, businesses, and friends throughout Charleston to rally around one powerful mission: improving and extending the lives of people living with cystic fibrosis. By supporting our events, donating, or sponsoring, you become part of this story—a story of resilience, hope, and the fight for a cure. Together, we are making a difference for Aubin and for the tens of thousands of people living with CF today.

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Experience

CF Statistics

Close to 40,000 people in the U.S. live with cystic fibrosis (CF).
Thanks to newborn screening, the majority of people are diagnosed by age 2.
The median predicted survival age for babies born with CF today (2020-2024) is about 65 years.
The median age of death in the U.S. is about 38.8 years.
For people with CF born between 2017-2021, the median life expectancy is ~53 years, up from ~38 years just a decade ago.
More than 60% of people with CF are now adults (18+), compared to earlier decades when few lived past childhood.
In past decades, the median age of death increased from ~24 years to ~37 years, showing major progress, but with more work still ahead.

Meet Our Founder

Taylor Lentz

Taylor Lentz is a wife, mom, nurse, and advocate who has turned her family’s journey with cystic fibrosis into a mission to bring people together and create change. At 36, she lives in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, with her husband Matt and their two children, Aubin and Boone.

Taylor grew up in Loveland, Ohio, and earned her nursing degree from the University of Kentucky. After working as a nurse in Lexington and then moving to South Carolina, she built her career caring for others. One of her first jobs was on a hospital floor where she often cared for children with cystic fibrosis. Many of those kids spent long stretches in the hospital, and Taylor developed close bonds with them and their families. At that time, there were no advanced treatments, and most care focused only on managing symptoms. The memories of those children, many of whom passed away far too young, stayed with her.

Years later, in 2020, cystic fibrosis became a personal reality when her daughter Aubin, who likes to go by Aubie, was diagnosed after being sick for almost a year. Most children are diagnosed at birth, but Aubie’s condition was missed in newborn screenings, even though she has one of the most severe forms of the disease. Once diagnosed, she was placed on Trikafta, a groundbreaking gene-modulating drug funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The change was remarkable. Aubie gained 14 pounds in a year, and her lung function improved back to 100 percent. For Taylor, the experience of being both a caregiver and a mother to a child with CF gave her perspective that fuels her work today.

Out of this mix of personal history and determination, CF Bites was born. A year after Aubie’s diagnosis, Taylor took a leap of faith and planned a fundraiser unlike anything Charleston had seen before. Inspired by her love of Halloween and her belief that fundraising should feel exciting and joyful, she created an over-the-top costume party that doubled as a fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She admits it was a risk. At one point, she and Matt worried they might end up paying for a wedding-sized party if no one showed. But people did show up, and they gave generously. The very first CF Bites raised over $60,000, setting the stage for what has now become an annual tradition.

Today, Taylor spends her time fundraising year-round and serves as Vice President of the South Carolina Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Board. She loves meeting new people and sharing the story of how a rare disease can connect so many lives. She often says that one of the most amazing parts of her work is how often she hears from people who have their own connection to CF. She is passionate about telling others about the progress that has been made, like gene modulators that correct the underlying cause of the disease, and about fighting for the 10 percent of patients who still have no treatment.

When she is not planning fundraisers or working with the CF Foundation, Taylor enjoys shark tooth hunting, reading, painting, and spending time at Holy City Brewery, her favorite local spot and the home of CF Bites. She also loves her role as mom first to Aubin, now 8, and Boone, 6, both students at Whitesides Elementary.

What makes Taylor unique is not that fundraising comes naturally, because it does not. She admits it is hard every time to ask for help. But she does it anyway, because she believes she was made to be Aubie’s mom. She carries with her the memory of the children she cared for as a young nurse and the hope she now sees in her daughter’s future. That mix of heartbreak, gratitude, and determination drives her to keep going until cystic fibrosis truly stands for Cure Found.