For the entire month of October, we are continuing to feature the JDRF Walk to
Cure Diabetes on our T1D Tuesday Blog! We will be interviewing Walk Team
Captains from around the country, who will share their experiences on
how they started their team and how they became successful at
fundraising.

Meet Walk Team Inspired by Isabella…

T1Nation: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What is your name?
Team Inspired by Isabella: Greg & Kristina Dooley: Our 3-year-old daughter, Isabella, was diagnosed with T1D on August 28, 2012. We recently relocated back to Northeast Ohio after 5 years of living abroad as expatriates.  Isabella, her brother, and sister were born in Argentina…they’re triplets!
 
T1Nation: If you are a member of TypeOneNation.org what is your screename?
InspiredbyIsabella
 
T1Nation: Who do you Walk for? When were they diagnosed and at what age?
Our 3-year-old daughter, Isabella!  Isabella was diagnosed August 28, 2012, just two weeks before her 2nd birthday.  Our family was actually living in Mexico City when she was diagnosed and we were fortunate to have had an amazing endocrinologist and wonderful support from many friends.
 
T1Nation: What is your team name? How did you come up with the name?
Inspired by Isabella…because we are Inspired by Isabella’s strength, courage and bravery as she fights daily the battles of living with type 1 diabetes. We actually created the concept of “Inspired by Isabella” just a few days after her diagnosis as we knew we wanted to do something to raise awareness about this disease.
 
T1Nation: Where is your JDRF Walk location?
This year our team participated in the JDRF Northeast Ohio Walk held at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo…it was great being able to stop along the Walk route and see all of the animals!

T1Nation: How many years have you participated in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes?
Just days after leaving the hospital post-diagnosis last year, we decided to organize an Inspired by Isabella team to participate in the JDRF Northeast Ohio Walk to Cure Diabetes. We were living in Mexico, but since Ohio was our “home” we knew we wanted to do something to begin our efforts to raise awareness and funds for T1D research.  With the support of many amazing people we were able to raise more than $6,500 in just three weeks!  This year we knew we had to raise the bar…and we did!  Our 2013 team has raised $9,500 and counting this year.

T1Nation: To date, how much has your team raised?
While organizing for our first walk team last year we set a fundraising goal of just $1,500. Little did we know what an impact our daughter’s story would have on others and in just over twelve months we have raised nearly $20,000 on our journey to a cure for type 1 diabetes.
 
T1Nation: What do you love most about the event?
We love seeing so many people getting together to show their support of those with type 1 diabetes. Seeing so many blood-sugar checks and insulin pumps is a good reminder of the reasons why we walk and that we aren’t alone in this battle. It was great this year that so many of our friends and family came out to walk alongside us and our daughter.
 
T1Nation: Please share your tips on how others can get involved in joining/fundraising. 
Fundraising begins with raising awareness. We believe the best way to do that is to share your story with anyone that will listen! To support our efforts we created a Facebook page, Twitter account and recently launched a website (InspiredbyIsabella.com). We’ve also created partnerships to raise funds (including jewelry, t-shirts, hair bows, and ornaments) and partnered with amazing businesses to host successful fundraising events. We have been truly amazed at the outpouring of support from friends, family and even perfect strangers!
 
T1Nation: Please share anything else you feel that could help others in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes.
While securing large donations is important, it’s also important to remember that every dollar matters. No fundraising goal is too small! We have heard from a number of “veteran” walkers that teams have a life cycle and often “run their course.”  While it can be emotionally difficult to try to get out and raise awareness and funds year after year, don’t forget why we all do this. Don’t let your team run its course. Unfortunately, our daughter’s diabetes never takes a break, therefore, we won’t stop fighting for her until a cure is found!

Get involved in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes in your community. Visit http://walk.jdrf.org to sign up today!