Walk of Hope

I just wanted to mention my walk here. I don't need to give you guys the statistics. I don't need to review how often Riley gets stuck with needles or how he feels when he's high or low. I don't need to spout of the statistics of shorter life spans and complications. You know all that already. You live it.

You know why we need a cure. Soon. All the advancements in CGMS and newer insulins are great, but I want a cure.

That's why I am sponsoring my own walk. There is not a local walk where I live, so last year I started Walk of Hope. All the proceeds go to The Iacocca Foundation.

The Iacocca Foundation was started by Lee Iacocca whose wife died from complications from Type 1 diabetes. Before she died, he promised her he would find a cure in his lifetime. And, then, he set out to do just that.

90 cents of every dollar donated to The Iacocca Foundation goes to research to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. They are the largest supporter of the research being done by Denise Faustman at Mass General Hospital in Boston.

In case you don't know about what Denise Faustman has done, she has cured Type 1 diabetes in mice. She is going to start human clinical trials soon to see if she can do the same for humans.

The Iacocca Foundation also donates to many other research projects going on that deal with finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes.

Walk of Hope will be held on October 6, 2007. This is also Riley's two year diagnosis date.

Like I said, it's a walk that I organize on my own. If any of you would like to donate click here (or copy and paste http://www.iacoccafoundation.org/donate_now.html) When you fill in your information under "designation" be sure to type in Walk of Hope. That way your donation will go directly to my walk.

I have to do this walk. I have to raise money. Why? Because at the end of the day I want to be able to look Riley in his eyes and say I've done my best to see to it that he doesn't have this disease forever. This walk is a small step toward making that happen.

Thank you to whoever is able to donate. It doesn't have to be much. If everyone who reads this post donates a few dollars, then it will all add up.

Penny

Best of luck on your walk. I did a bike ride last year that went to Iaccoca’s foundation. I’m doing another this year where the money goes directly to Mass General and Dr. Faustman.

This is for me and Riley and all the other Type 1’s out there. I hope you raise thousands of $'s.

Good Luck. We dont have any diabetes related local chapters (ADA or JDRF) and I was hoping you could tell me a little bit about how you organized your own walk. Thanks, I looked into the Iacocca Foundation when Adin was diagnosed and get newsletters from time to time.

I too would like more info on your walk. We had a JDRF walk here, but they decided not to hold it here anymore. I would really like to do some fundraising for JoinLeeNow and would like to know more details about your walk and if it can be replicated.

Hey Penny! I too will be walking for a cure on October 6th. our walk is Step out to Fight Diabetes for the ADA chapter here in Statesboro, GA. I will be thinking of you and Riley as we go through our walk. I think that it’s wonderful what you are doing! I know that it’s hard on the parents and loved ones that live with this disease… it took me over 20 years of living with the disease to realize that. all I have to say is that you and the millions of others who support us diabetics Rock! the other Penny

I just donated a small amount… have you heard of GoodSearch…it’s like Yahoo’s search engine, but the ad revenue goes towards a charity - you can designate the Iacocca Foundation as your charity of choice. As much as I look up things on the internet I figured this would be a painless way to raise some money for Dr. Faustman’s research!