JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation)

In September this year I'm taking part in JDRF's Walk to Cure Diabetes. I'll be joining one-half million other walkers across the country as we try to reach our goal of raising $80 million for diabetes research.

Type 1 (or juvenile) diabetes affects millions of people -- a large and growing percentage of them children. I've recently met so many parents whose children were diagnosed with diabetes, some of them as young as two years old. For the families, the diagnosis is devastating. The parents worry about whether their child will have a happy, healthy life. They fear that their child will suffer the serious complications that diabetes can cause. Complications such as blindness and kidney failure. The siblings have to learn to do without treats that they have been accustomed to in order to make life easier for their brother/sister. And, right now, diabetes is a life sentence. It never goes away. My heart breaks when I hear the children's stories of a life filled with finger sticks and injections when it should be a happy and wondrous time.

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when I was 11 years old. Now, nearly 42 years later, I still have hopes for a cure. Even though great strides have been made in the treatment of diabetes, more still needs to be done to find the ultimate treatment -- a cure.

Now, more than ever, you can make a crucial difference. Won't you please give to JDRF as generously as possible? Together we CAN make the cure a reality!

To make your tax-deductible donation, please click here. Thank you so much for your generosity.