A word from our Chair
Thanks again for your continued participation in our annual event to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Keeping with tradition we have scheduled our run and walk to take place on the last Sunday in September on the Jitney Trail in Pictou. So mark September 25th on your calendar and get ready for a great day of fun and fitness on the beautiful Pictou waterfront.
For the last seven years the Pictou County Walk to Cure Diabetes has been recognized as the top community walk for JDRF in Canada. This only happens because of the commitment you and our sponsors have made to this event year after year. Each year our event attracts new families and individuals who live with diabetes but we have just as many participants who are not directly affected by this disease and for their own reasons choose to participate, register for the run or collect pledges for the walk and do their part in the race towards a cure for Type 1 Diabetes. Because of this commitment we are getting closer to a cure and making unbelievable advances in the management of this disease.
Diabetes has been part of my world for the last 11 years. While I do not own the disease personally I have watched my son transform from a newly diagnosed three year old bewildered and terrified by the sudden onset of injections and finger pokes to a young man trying to live his life his life like any other normal teenager.
Every stage of managing a child with diabetes has its challenges. Today, our son Ben is learning that how he manages his diabetes as a teenager will impact his life as an adult. Until there is a cure, children and adults living with diabetes face a myriad of potential complications of their disease. It is a fact that frightened me 11 years ago and perhaps even more so today. This is a fear faced by all parents with children with diabetes and it is the driving force behind all of the efforts of every individual committed to finding a cure for this disease.
But if you want to meet someone who is fearless, then you are going to have to take a few moments at our walk this year to seek out our 2010 Youth Ambassador, Owen MacDonald. On the back of the pledge form you can read a little of his story written by his incredible Mom, Victoria. And check out our web site www.pictou jdrf.ca for some great pictures taken at the photo shoot for the promotional materials.
If you have any questions about the event this year please give me a call or drop me an e-mail. Extra pledge forms are available at the Pictou County YMCA and Fulmore’s Pharmacy in Pictou.
See you on September 25th
In gratitude
Crystal MacKinnon-Murray
Event Co-ordinator 2011 Pictou County Walk to Cure Diabetes
For more information give me a call at
902-485-1965 orcrystal@seabirch.com