With the help of Open Road Auto Group and supporters, JDRF New Jersey Metro & Rockland County Chapter aims to raise $1.5 million for critically needed type 1 diabetes research

Open Road Auto Group will be honored at JDRF’s One Dream Gala on Saturday, May 20, on the field at MetLife Stadium. As Corporate Honoree, W. Rodman Ryan, Founder and CEO, and Michael Morais, President, will be accepting the award in recognition of the company’s unwavering passion and commitment to JDRF’s mission – which accelerates life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and better treat type 1 diabetes (T1D) and its complications.

As an automotive retailer specializing in “in-demand vehicles” for the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area, Open Road Auto Group expanded their company’s commitment to excellence by serving as fierce leaders in the fight against T1D. Since 2015, Open Road Auto Group and its employees have generated more than $600,000 to support JDRF’s vision to create a world without T1D.  JDRF International CEO Derek Rapp will present Open Road Auto Group with their award at the event.

Mr. Ryan expressed that “It is our dream and mission to see a cure for type 1 diabetes. We are pleased to be the honoree and to share JDRF’s vision in finding a cure.”

More than 600 JDRF supporters are expected to attend this year’s annual One Dream Gala and experience an exciting evening including a cocktail reception; multi-course dinner; silent and live auctions; live music; and JDRF’s signature Fund A Cure program, where 100 percent of tax-deductible contributions drive research for artificial pancreas technology, beta cell replacement therapies, and other critical JDRF research priorities. Tracie Wilk and Dina Madonick will serve as the event co-chairs, and Bruce Beck, lead sports anchor at WNBC-TV, will serve as the event’s Master of Ceremonies. The JDRF One Dream Gala is the premier gala in New Jersey, and one not to be missed.

“Whether or not you know someone with type 1 diabetes, your support of the One Dream Gala will impact thousands of families in our local community who are affected by this disease” said Kathleen Fitzpatrick, board president for JDRF New Jersey Metro & Rockland County Chapter.  “These last few years have been one of the most productive periods in T1D research and JDRF has been at the center of this progress. We are extremely thankful to Open Road Auto Group and other business leaders who are making this progress possible for the 1.25 million Americans living with this disease.“

JDRF gratefully acknowledges our chapter premier partners for One Dream Gala: BD, Novo Nordisk and Quest Diagnostics.

Individual tickets start at $400 each and sponsorships are available. For more information, please visit https://njmetrorockland.ejoinme.org/OneDreamGala or contact Development Director Teddi Bubnowski at the JDRF New Jersey Metro and Rockland County Chapter at 732-945-1130 or tbubnowski@jdrf.org.