CYPRESS, TX — A group of industrious young area students are going the distance to help find a cure for diabetes by participating in Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s (JDRF) Kids Walk program.
JDRF staff and volunteers visited Black Elementary physical education classes to educate students about diabetes and its affect on children. The volunteers also discussed the importance of a healthy lifestyle which is a key to preventing type 2 diabetes. Participating students raised money for approximately two weeks. Some of the students went above and beyond by holding bake sales and lemonade stands. Their efforts were recognized with a celebratory walk around the school track.
The JDRF Kids Walk Program is great fun for the students and simultaneously benefits the school. Students who raise $10 or more earn incentive prizes such as JDRF kites and tents. Schools raising a total of $1,000 or more receive a banner to proudly display, while PE receive 10 percent of the total money raised. This money can be used for gym equipment, supplies or field trips.
“We were so excited with how our students and parents embraced the idea of finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes. What started off with a simple idea, moved to a $10,000 goal, and before we knew it we collected over $14,000 and probably 1000 signed sneakers which circled our gym six times. We are so proud of Black Elementary for their generosity and true concern for finding a cure” explained Mary Miller and Kurt Anselmi, P.E. Teachers at Black Elementary. Rachel Johnson, an active school volunteer and mother of a type 1 diabetic explains the effect on her daughter: “Hayley felt great about all of the support she got from all of her peers. One friend told her, ‘There are a lot of brave people, but you are brave every day.’ It has been a great opportunity for her to see that something that makes her different from her friends is also the thing that makes her their hero.” Johnson also shares how moving it was to watch the kids come together for a cause. “The school walk program was embraced by all 1,000 students who worked in their own ways to raise money to find a cure. Lemonade stands, bake sales, the emptying of piggy banks, and donations from friends and family all over the country allowed for the Black Elementary Bearkats to meet and exceed their $10,000 goal.”
Thanks to the efforts of the students and faculty at Black Elementary, the school raised over $14,000 for JDRF. JDRF was able to then donate more than $1,400 back to the school’s PE department. During a time with extreme budget costs, JDRF celebrates that they can help the school and a great cause at the same time.
JDRF’s mission is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. The organization was founded in 1970 by parents of children with diabetes and is the world’s largest charitable funder and advocate of type 1 diabetes research, responsible for more than $1 billion in direct funding. JDRF funds research with the greatest impact throughout the world, leading to results as soon as possible.
More than 80 percent of JDRF’s expenditures directly support research and research-related education. Because of its unwavering focus on its mission to find a cure, JDRF annually receives top rankings from independent sources that rate charitable giving.
Those interested in participating in JDRF’s Kids Walk program should contact Breanna Hansen at the Houston Gulf Coast Chapter at 713.334.4400 or e-mail bhansen@jdrf.org. For more information about diabetes, please visit www.jdrf.org.
