November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Awareness is important. After bringing awareness, I’m interested in ACTION!
I did an interview today on WSFA about the Pike Road Lions Club Strides Walk with Dennis Fonville, the President of the Pike Road Lions. The on-screen information included my blog address. Watch the interview here. I wanted to be sure to guide people back to the Pike Road Lions Club Facebook page.
To pre-register for the event, CLICK HERE.
This inaugural Strides Walk will take place Saturday, November 10, 9:00-11:00 A.M. at Cottonwood Golf Club in Montgomery, Alabama. Registration begins at 8:00 A.M. Eric Snitil, meteorologist with WSFA News, will be our Master of Ceremonies. Eric was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 17 years ago. We will walk the back nine holes of the course together. The money raised will go to Camp Seale Harris, which organizes camps all over Alabama for children with type 1 diabetes.
Pay at the event, $20 per person. In honor of Veterans Day, veterans will be admitted free, as well as Lions Club members, and children 10 years old and younger.
If you are unable to attend but would like to contribute, please consider donating to the Pike Road Lions Club Strides Walk for Diabetes Awareness GoFundMe page here.
Here is the backstory:
In May 2018, the Pike Road Lions Club sponsored our family to go to a family weekend at Camp Seale Harris which organizes camps all over Alabama for children with type 1 diabetes. We were thrilled that our school nurse, Amber Stevens, had suggested our family, along with several others, to the Pike Road Lions Club President Dennis Fonville and Vice President Jeff Pinegar. I wrote about our experience at the Family Camp here.
I spoke to the Lions after our Family Camp. I shared photos of our time there and shared just how much we appreciated the opportunity to make connections with other T1D families. Camp make a lasting impression on Grasshopper and we look forward to being involved in other camp activities.
A few months after Family Camp, Jeff asked if I would help organize an event with the Pike Road Lions. He explained that Lions Club International has expanded their mission to include helping those with diabetes.
One of the Lions new initiatives is the Strides for Diabetes Awareness. Local clubs are encouraged to organize various active events for Strides such as a run, walk, a bicycle race, a dance, or any gathering that encourages exercise, education about the various forms of diabetes, and offers screenings. I was honored to be included and excited to help bring together the people I have met so far in our area who are affected by diabetes! I have met many families, individuals, business owners, and non-profit leaders in the past 5 years who have a diabetes connection. I know there are many more. I hope that Alese and I can play some small part in bringing people together for support through our efforts here at Sugar Rush Survivors.
