Personal Fundraising Page for Christy McCurdy
When I was diagnosed at age 15 with type 1 diabetes (T1D), it came as a shock to me and my family. I was in high school, just getting ready to get my learner’s permit to start driving, and it was a devastating diagnosis. Living with T1D is a constant challenge. There are no days off, and the normal things we all deal with every day – eating, exercising, activity and stress – all become part of an ongoing calculation and balancing act to maintain normal blood sugar levels.
I’ve been lucky over the years that T1D hasn’t prevented me from doing what I want to accomplish. I traveled – sometimes to remote places like Turkey, China, and Cuba – I volunteered for several years as a coach for the SportsBackers YMCA 10K training teams, and I’ve been successful in my career. When Jerry and I were married two years ago, I happily ate wedding cake! Unfortunately, type one diabetes can have long term effects on those that have to live with the disease. Eye, kidney, and heart complications are all health issues that every type one hopes to avoid, and which JDRF hopes to eradicate.
I’m grateful for the advances in technology that help me manage T1D, and luckily, I have the support of my husband and family to help me cope. I’ve been volunteering with JDRF for 2 years, and as the leading organization funding type 1 diabetes research, I feel like I have their support, too. That is why, this year, I have volunteered to be the 15th Annual JDRF Gala Chair. This event focuses not only on bringing awareness about type one diabetes, but also to fund a cure. Through the Fund A Cure auction we raise hundreds of thousands of dollars that go directly to research. This money is imperative to the research mission for JDRF and every dollar gets us closer to finding a cure. Along with the Honoree Family, Sandy Lacy and Callie and Alex Brackett, and the Fund A Cure Champions, Jeannie and Chris Schutt and Sue and Ed Schutt, we hope to have the most successful JDRF Gala to date to help push research areas like Encapsulation to human clinical trials.
Like the 3 million+ people with T1D and their families and loved ones, every day when I wake up and test my blood sugar levels, I hope for a day when no one will have to live with T1D.
JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. JDRF’s goal is to progressively remove the impact of T1D from people’s lives until we achieve a world without T1D. JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners and is the only organization with the scientific resources, regulatory influence, and a working plan to better treat, prevent, and eventually cure T1D. As the largest charitable supporter of T1D research, JDRF is currently sponsoring $568 million in scientific research in 17 countries. For more information, please visit www.jdrf.org.
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Fund A Cure is a unique opportunity to make a 100 percent tax-deductible donation to JDRF that will fund critical type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Since 1994, JDRF has raised more than $211 million through the Fund A Cure campaign alone. |