During my three and a half years working on the JDRF Advocacy team I've been asked over and over again "Why should I become a JDRF Advocate?" To me it always seemed fairly simple--your Congressperson needs to hear from you about the T1D issues that impact you. The more people that Congress hears from on these important issues, the more they pay attention and the more likely they are to support us on these issues. Well, now I've got an even better reason why you should join us in becoming a JDRF Advocate. Three of our wonderful JDRF Advocate families were kind enough to let a film crew into their lives for a day to capture why the Advocacy program and JDRF are so important to them. Their stories and experiences with JDRF are powerful reasons to get involved with our Advocacy program. A huge thank you to Angie and John, Scott, Jen and their families for sharing their stories with us! Please watch our brand new video today, share it with everyone that you know who cares about T1D and make sure they (and you) sign up as an Advocate. After you've done all of that, leave some comments--we'd love to hear what you think about the video and about your experiences with JDRF Advocacy.
Please send me information on how to get more involved. My son Sam is now 11 and was diagnosed at age 4. We participate in the JDRF walk every year, but I think I'm ready to do more. Thanks for the link.
Erin Poche`
erinmcshaypoche@hotmail.com
Great video. Shared it on Facebook.
My granddaughter has type 1 diabetes. She was diagnosed at age 13. A year later she has adapted to her regimen of counting carbs and taking insulin. She eats healthy and tries to exercise while maintaining an A average in her freshman year of highschool. She will attend a diabetic camp this summer. She is trying so hard to lead a normal teenage existence but she does have moments when she is afraid of the effects of lows and highs. I think the video was very good because it shows actual families who must help their child to face a very different regimen every day.
The Wall Street Journal reports today, June 11, 2012, a 23% jump in Type 1 diabetes among American youth. We all need to work together to reverse this alarming trend.
I have already signed up to be an advocate. THE REASON - My daughter, Candace, is 42 years old and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 10 months old. My son, Mark, is 44 years old and was diagnosed when he was 13 years old. Their dad was diagnosed at age 27 with T1D and now my grandson, Chandler, 14 years old, was diagnosed when he was 12. The Webb Walkers team participates each year in the walk for a cure. Many wonderful advancements have been developed since March 1971 when my daughter was diagnosed. I am ready for a cure.....Thanks to our government as they continue to support T1D to find a cure.
Sincerely,
Janet Webb
Huntersville NC
The video is very moving, it is amazing the strength and courage of these young kids. Let us keep praying for everyone who is affected by diabetes and God willing we find a cure and if it takes time always remember, "never give up". Thank You to everyone involved and God Bless You all.
Amazing video, brings tears to my eyes because i can relate to every word that was spoken. My 6 year old daughter has been dealing with type 1 diabetes since she was 5 years old. I will share this video with everyone I know. Helping to spread the word on how important it is to contact or congressman and asked them for their help in finding a cure for diabetes.
Great line... "your Congressperson needs to hear from you about the T1D issues that impact you"
Rock on
Thank you for all of the comments! We're so grateful to our amazing families in the video who were willing to share their T1D stories.
All three of these families have done great work in their communities making sure that they're contacting their Members of Congress about critical issues like the Special Diabetes Program (SDP). To learn more about the Special Diabetes Program that Angie mentions in the video, go to http://bit.ly/KXGjEw.
Although we'd love for every JDRF volunteer to attend a meeting in person with their congressperson like Jen and her daughter, phone calls and emails to Congress play a huge part in helping us reach our legislative goals too! You can get action alerts about issues like the SDP by signing up at http://bit.ly/KJ3iNf.
Lastly, as Scott says in the video, "As an advocate for JDRF, you have true power to change things." I hope you'll join us.