Annual 'JDRF Charleston One Walk' coming to DI March 12
More than 1,000 walkers representing local businesses, families, schools and other organizations are expected to participate in the 8th Annual JDRF Charleston One Walk on Sunday, March 12, 2017 at Smythe Park on Daniel Island. Organizers have set a fundraising goal of collecting over $146,000 for Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) research. All proceeds directly benefit JDRF, the leading global organization with a strategic plan to create a world without T1D.
“JDRF is thrilled to be in our eighth year in Charleston, walking toward a cure and other technological advances and therapies that make living with T1D possible,” says Paige Kuehmeier of JDRF, a T1D parent herself. “T1D is a disease that affects as many as 3 million Americans, many right here in the Lowcountry, with more children and adults being diagnosed every day. It is important to us that the Charleston JDRF One Walk be a day of hope and celebration for the T1D community, especially our family teams who bear the weight of managing this disease each and every day.”
Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone needed to get energy from food. There is no way to prevent it, and at present, no cure. It strikes both children and adults at any age and suddenly. Life with T1D is a constant balancing act. People with T1D must regularly monitor their blood sugar level and need injected or infused insulin to stay alive.
Each year, JDRF funds millions of dollars in life changing research, nearly $100 million just last year. Every dollar raised from the over 200 JDRF One Walks all across the United States is directed towards research that has led to recent breakthroughs such as artificial pancreas systems and encapsulated beta cell therapies. The FDA recently approved the first artificial pancreas system in late 2016 and it will be available for use in Spring 2017. Many more systems are expected to follow and many other potential therapies are currently in clinical trials.
“We continue to be so impressed by the involvement of the community here in Charleston. Our walkers and family teams grow each year. Our local schools participate, our businesses are generous with their time and donations, and we are fortunate to have Student Transportation Inc. and its STI Cares Foundation as our presenting sponsor for the third year in a row,” notes Kuehmeier. “All of these contributions help us to direct even more dollars to research for curing, treating and preventing T1D.”
The Charleston JDRF One Walk is expected to draw an enthusiastic crowd with fun, free activities for all ages and includes bounce houses, face painting, balloon art, laser tag and pony rides. The entire walk is 1.2 miles around Smythe Park and the surrounding neighborhood and begins at 1:00 p.m. Registration is still ongoing. More information on the Walk can be found at www.facebook.com/charleston.jdrf.walk. To learn more about how you can contribute to the Charleston JDRF One Walk, contact Kuehmeier at (843) 327-8007 or pkuehmeier@jdrf.org.