JDRF.org/mountainwest
MILLVILLE — Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has a chapter in Utah. The exorbitant cost of insulin has been in the news the last few years and another organization, Utah Insulin 4 All, has been quite effective in lobbying state lawmakers and raising public awareness.
On the other side is the long-term battle to better understand the disease and the best treatment to fight it.
To help raise awareness and fundraise, JDRF is hosting an event this Saturday from 11a.m. to 2p.m.at the Millville South Park at 510 East 300 South in Millville.
On KVNU’s For the People program on Tuesday, Diana Thomas, whose daughter suffers from Type 1 Diabetes(T-1-D), talked about the goals of the foundation.
“Their goal is to help find a cure and also help bring resources to those that are especially newly diagnosed and to make sure that we’re communicating and learning about all the new things that are coming, advances in technology. We’re going to hopefully help our community get in touch with some of those resources,” explained Thomas.
She said the Mountain West JDRF Family picnic will help along those lines, and it’s especially for the people in our area.
“Because we can be pretty isolated from things happening down in Salt Lake or Utah County, which they do a lot of events down there. So, (we have) worked with the girls to put this together so that we don’t feel so alone all the way up here in Cache County. And Rich and Box Elder counties are welcome, we would love for them to come as well, and even into Preston (ID) we’ve really tried to reach out to all of those areas.”
So bring a picnic, play games, enjoy the splash pad, visit the Diabetes supply table and booths with resources to better manage Diabetes. Also you can enter a drawing for fun prizes and meet Dalton Baker, fellow T-1-D and USU Football alumni.
Also on the program was Grace Thomas who talked about why she’s involved with this.
“I’m going to be a high school senior next year, and I’ve been helping with planning this event. I’ve been diabetic for six years now, and I’m (assisting) with this just to help specifically younger kids understand that they’re not alone in this. It can be a hard road to go on, and it’s nice to see other people doing the exact same things you are,” Grace said.
Also on the program was Mariah Peel who has been diabetic since age six. She said it was a challenge to learn to ask about everything you want to eat. You can get more information at JDRF.org/mountainwest.