JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes a huge success!

Throughout June nearly 50 communities gathered across Canada to raise funds for type 1 diabetes research.

The JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes is the largest fundraising event in Canada that brings together the type 1 diabetes (T1D) community to raise funds for T1D research. A fun-filled family and community celebration, the Walk has raised more than $140 million to date in its more than 30-year history – making it one of the longest running and most successful fundraising events in Canada.

Funds raised will go towards research into curing T1D, while improving the lives of people living with it today. This year is the 50th year of JDRF in Canada, and we celebrated the decades of progress, momentum and breakthroughs that have taken place since then, while recognizing the time is now to push forward towards screening, prevention and cures for this disease.

June was once again designated as Walk Month and to date more than $2.6M has already been raised in support of the most promising diabetes research. Additional Walks took place in May with a number of communities still planning Walks in September.

The Walk is so much more than just a fundraiser. It’s a chance for families living with T1D to meet, share their stories and gain support from each other. Many Walks had a tent and activities designated specifically for new families, supported by JDRF Volunteers to provide the most up to date information and resources on navigating life with T1D. As well, trained Research volunteers were on-hand at several sites to provide participants with information on the latest updates in T1D research, and at the Toronto Walk how to access JDRF’s Clinical Trial Finder tool, and several Walk sites had information on the stages of T1D as part of our Awareness Corner activities.

Games were set up for the kids and emcees helped keep the energy fun and exciting with music. Each Walk location had their own unique spin to make the day one to remember for the T1D community.

At the Toronto Walk, we were once again joined by JDRF ambassadors Max Domi and Kaleb Dahlgren, who met with families, took photos and helped to lead the warm-up. Max took time with every child who wanted to meet with him, signed autographs, spoke from the stage and brought hope and inspiration to everyone in attendance.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all our sponsors. With their support, we were able to offer an incredible day of community spirit with valuable resources for T1D families while innumerable connections were made. Across Canada, the Walk was an acknowledgment of 50 years of progress in T1D research, with the recognition that there is much work to be done.

Thank you so much to our Walkers, volunteers, donors, vendors, and our local, regional, national partners. We could not have done it without you. Together we walked, and with each step we took, we got one step closer to a world free from T1D.