Hundreds Walk to Raise Funds for Those Battling With Type 1 Diabetes

The 16th annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk to Cure Type 1 Diabetes brought hundreds of people to Elmira College, US, to support those battling the disease. "My daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was 4-and-a-half years old, she’s 16 now," said, Suzanne Henbest, JDRF Board Member. "We’ve been here for the last 11 years walking in support of all the children and people living in our community that battle Type 1 Diabetes."

The foundation has raised over a billion dollars to fund diabetes research around the globe over the last 40 years. These research efforts would not be possible without community support. "We deal with it day in and day out, and we know what they go through but for them to come out, and for the kids to see how many other people are trying to help them find a cure means a lot to the children," said Henbest. "It makes me feel like i’m not alone," Meghan Henbest, a walker who has been living with diabetes for 12 years, said.

All the funds raised from the event go directly to finding a cure. "There are researchers, leading researchers, around the world who depend on us to raise the money to continue the research that they’re doing," said Knappen.

"I look at how much progress has been made in the 11 years since Megan was diagnosed, with the pump technology, we wouldn’t have that technology if it weren’t for these fundraising efforts," Henbest said. "So I’m very hopeful for a cure and we just won’t give up, we’ll be doing this forever if we have to."

Source-Medindia