Families in St. Albert will walk to raise funds and awareness for type 1 diabetes on Sunday.
The 2017 JDRF Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes starts at 1 p.m. at Legion Memorial Ball Park at 215 Sturgeon Road. The event has already raised nearly $10,000 from nine different teams and more than 30 individuals.
The JDRF, formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and Telus have been hosting the event for 10 years in St. Albert. The walk will be one of 57 across Canada in support of diabetes research and awareness.
“In the last decade, there have been some incredible advancements in the areas of encapsulation, transplantation, stem cell therapies and artificial pancreas research that have helped move us even closer to a cure,” says Dave Prowten, president and CEO of JDRF Canada.
“We want to make these advancements happen sooner, but to do this, we need to step up our fundraising efforts. I want to thank everyone walking with us for playing a vital role in helping us reach our fundraising goals so we can continue to support important research breakthroughs that impact the lives of those living with type 1 diabetes,” Prowten said.
The walk will be a family friendly event with activities including bouncy castles, face painting, and balloon animals. The walk goes around the river valley, and concludes with a celebratory barbecue.
The JDRF has worked alongside Telus to promote this event since 2007.
“Telus has been a huge supporter of JDRF for the past 10 years, we’ve been very fortunate to have them,” said Cheryl Vickers, an events and fundraising manager for JDRF Edmonton. Over the course of the partnership, Telus has raised more than $10 million for the JDRF.
For Vickers, whose son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at two years old, events such as these are a great opportunity to help combat all kinds of autoimmune disorders.
“If we can figure out why the body is attacking the insulin producing cells, we would be able to help all different types of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis,” she said.
The JDRF was founded in 1970. This is an international charity dedicated to the eradication of type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disorder that prevents the pancreas from creating insulin, which helps regulate the blood glucose levels. Based out of New York City, the JDRF has affiliates in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, Israel, and the Netherlands.
Sunday may bring some rain as the forecast calls for scattered showers throughout the day, but it should still be a warm, bright day for the walk. For more information or to donate, visit www.jdrf.ca/walk.
