Welcome to our 2018 JDRF One Walk Team Spotlights, a series dedicated to celebrating the most important part of JDRF One Walk – YOU! Registration for One Walk Bucks County is open, and there’s plenty of time to assemble your team, as fundraising continues well beyond Walk Day. All the hard work culminates in a day of fun at the Warminster Community Park on Sunday, September 30.

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I attended One Walk Bucks County a week after I was diagnosed—right after I got out of the hospital, when I thought I was alone with T1D. Then I found this community of other people with the same disease.

When Jamie Taylor was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) back in 2009, she arrived home from her hospital stay to a package from JDRF. The Bag of Hope was filled with useful information for her family and comforting items for nine-year-old Jamie. Now off to college, Jamie makes a point to stay involved with JDRF, joining hundreds of other affected by T1D at this year’s One Walk Bucks County.

Read below to find out more about what JDRF means to Jamie:

I was diagnosed with T1D 10 years ago, when I was nine years old. Living with T1D hasn’t been the easiest for me because I had other issues along with the disease, but I take it one day at a time and manage it daily. I now attend Parsons School of Design in New York City for photography. At first I was scared to live on my own with T1D—but this is my second year at school, and so far I have been able to manage my diabetes!

I’m still fundraising for JDRF because I attended One Walk Bucks County a week after I was diagnosed—right after I got out of the hospital, when I thought I was alone with the disease. Then I found this community of other people with the same disease, as well as supportive families and friends that wanted to find a cure, too. That’s when I started my team, Jamie’s Clovers. My family is pretty Irish, so I thought the name was fitting.

I have fundraised a few different ways over the years to spread the word that there needs to be a cure for T1D and that donations can help! I have had a lemonade stand, created a YouTube video asking people to come to One Walk, placed donation buckets and sold sneakers at various stores, and of course sent people to my fundraising webpage!

Actually, because of my Jamie’s Clovers fundraising page—and an incentive to self-donate to my team, the JDRF Eastern PA Chapter sent me to a Phillies game this past May to throw the first pitch and represent the T1D community, which I was so grateful to do!

To any family or person newly diagnosed with T1D, I just want to say that you’re not alone. You just joined a huge community that has your back and is here for support or advice. And we won’t stop trying to find a cure for T1D.

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Have you registered for One Walk Bucks County yet? Visit walk.jdrf.org/buckscounty to start or join a team. For more information about the JDRF One Walk program, or to find a Walk location near you, please visit walk.jdrf.org.