4th annual Southern Utah Walk to Cure Diabetes hopes to raise $79K

ST. GEORGE —The Utah Chapter of Juvnile Diabetes Research Foundation is putting on its sneakers with hopes of raising over $79,000 to fund research to find better treatments, prevention methods and a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications.

Type 1 diabetes affects more than three million Americans today. Additionally, one in three children born in the United States will develop this deadly disease, according to the 2012 National Diabetes Fact Sheet.

“With diabetes skyrocketing and over 175,000 Utahans living with this disease, our Walks to Cure Diabetes are now more important than ever,” Stacey Bowen, Development Manager for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Utah/Idaho Chapter. “Our $79,000 goal for Southern Utah may be ambitious, but attainable with a philanthropic community like ours who rally to support its people. The more money we raise, the more research we will be able to fund, hopefully with a cure in sight.”

St. George boy, Brandon Roundy, has had type 1 diabetes since he was 7. His mom and dad, Kristin and Cole, have been actively involved in fundraising for the foundation since Brandon’s diagnosis. Their team, “Brandon’s Band of Buddies,” has raised nearly $6,000 over the past 3 years and hope to add another $1,000 to their total this year.

Kristin Roundy said:

The JDRF walk is our favorite event of the year. There is something so powerful about watching a huge group of people come together and care about something that affects your child (and you) every minute of their life. These kids are heroes. They fight an enormous battle with so many needles and pokes that most of us can’t even imagine. They need us to fight with them and for them. We have to find a cure because I can’t even imagine him having to live like this his whole life. It is more than my heart can bear.

Cole Roundy Said:

 I am so thankful for the work the JDRF does to help get us closer to the cure. So much of Brandon’s life is made easier by the advancements that have come about, in large part, due to the funding made possible by the JDRF.

The Roundy Family will be joined by hundreds of walkers — including numerous family teams like theirs, corporate teams and school teams — who come out each year to support the walk.

This year the walk will take place on Saturday, starting at the Virgin River trail head within Crosby Family Confluence Park, 2099 S. Convention Center Dr., in St. George.

Onsite registration begins at 9 a.m., and a ceremonial ribbon cutting will take place at 10 a.m. This year, the ribbon will be cut by the brothers of local girl, Kycie Terry, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes earlier this year and is in rehabilitation at Primary Children’s for a traumatic brain injury secondary to her diagnosis.

Following the Walk, a cookout lunch will be provided along with numerous carnival-style games for kids, face painting, bounce house, and rock wall. The Walk is generously sponsored by many community partners, including Worker’s Compensation Fund, Parker Advisory Group, Carl’s Jr., Wendy’s, and the Yamagata Foundation. All monies raised will go towards the critical research being done to cure, treat, and prevent type 1 diabetes.

About type 1 diabetes 

Type 1 diabetes, previously called juvenile diabetes, occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin — a hormone needed to move the glucose contained in food into cells throughout the body, which is used for energy. When beta cells are destroyed, no insulin can be produced, and the glucose stays in the blood where it can cause serious damage to all organ systems of the body. Therefore, people with type 1 diabetes must take insulin to stay alive.

People with diabetes must undergo multiple injections daily, or have insulin delivered through an insulin pump, and test their blood sugar by pricking their fingers for blood six or more times a day. In addition, they must also carefully balance their food intake and exercise to regulate blood sugar levels to avoid hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemic (high blood sugar) reactions, which can be life threatening.

Walks are held in more than 200 cities worldwide. About 500,000 people nationally walked last year and raised $90 million to cure diabetes. For more information about the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or the Walk to Cure Diabetes, visit http://www.jdrf.org.

About Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

The foundation is a leader in setting the agenda for diabetes research worldwide, and is the largest charitable funder and advocate of type 1 diabetes research. The mission of the foundation is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Type 1 diabetes is a disease which strikes children and adults suddenly and requires multiple injections of insulin daily or a continuous infusion of insulin through a pump. Insulin, however, is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating complications which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and amputation.

Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with Type 1 diabetes, the foundation has awarded more than $1.7 billion to diabetes research, including more than $110 million in 2012 alone.

To register now and participate, sponsor the event, build a Walk team, or for more information please visit walk.jdrf.org or call 888-533-WALK.

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