Thank you to all of those who were able to brave the weather and join us on October 19 at the JDRF One Walk. Those of you impacted by T1D know that each day is unpredictable, and the JDRF One Walk is no different. This year, the weather was rainy and chilly, but you showed up in a big way whether you were able to join us virtually or in person. You reminded everyone that together we are #unstoppable!

What we love most about the JDRF One Walk is the sense of community it creates for all of our walkers. For those newly diagnosed, it is most likely the first time they do not feel alone in their diagnosis. The JDRF One Walk continues to be an amazing reminder of how many people are dedicated to a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D) and that, when we’re together, there’s nothing we cannot do. It gives us so much hope and we hope you felt the same.
Despite the weather we still had a strong turnout and raised $1 MILLION (and counting). That’s incredible —and it means we’ll make even more progress towards a cure and improvements in how we manage T1D. THANK YOU!!!

We want to give a BIG shout out to our incredible volunteers, we could not put on a successful event without your commitment and hard work. Special thanks to our Experience Committee led by Jason Smith and our Family Teams Committee led by Liz & Kevin Houston.

Please see below for a few post-event updates & reminders:

1st Annual Strides of Hope Award: We were honored to present Denise and Hal Weinstein with a very special award for their incredible commitment to a cure. Denise and Hal became involved with JDRF 40 years ago, when their 9-month old daughter was first diagnosed and have since raised $1 MILLION for JDRF. Learn more about their story in this special video.

Walk Day Highlights

Top Fundraising Teams by Category
o Top 5 Family Teams: The Weinstein Family Team, Savannah Stars, The Board Walk, Team Jack Attack and Carson’s Crusaders
o Top 3 School Teams: Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, Woodward Academy & OLA
o Top Corporate Team: Morgan Stanley

Team T-Shirt Contest Winners – NEW Categories!
o Most Original (Family Teams) – Team Jade
o Best Use of Mission (Family Teams) – JAY Walkers
o Best School Team – Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School

Rufus Halloween Costume Contest:
Congratulations to Team Ki Ki’s Glucose Gladiators for winning the One Walk Rufus the Bear Costume Contest. She dressed her Rufus up like a blood sucking vampire, aka, her Accucheck Meter! Great job Ki Ki! For winning this contest, Santa’s Fantastical, Atlanta’s whimsical, family-friendly holiday destination, is giving Ki Ki four guests passes to this years’ experience. Santa’s Fantastical is proud to support our JDRF community and would like to invite everyone to come out in this joyous season of love and giving, to enliven your inner child with countless magical moments. No carb counting required to enjoy this event! For more information on the Santa’s Fantastical experience, please visit https://santasfantastical.com/.

Crystal Awards & Incentive Prizes: We are getting closer to our goal of $1.178M by the minute! Remember you can continue to raise funds through December 1st to qualify for the Crystal Award and other incentives! Share your Walk day experience through social media to keep the momentum going and maximize your impact!

Double Your Impact! If you haven’t already, send the following link your donors to ask about matching gifts – jdrf.org/matchinggifts/. Matching gifts are the easiest and fastest way to reach or exceed your fundraising goal and double your donations!
Our community is powerful and inspirational, and we can accomplish so much together. Saturday proved that. Thank you for your commitment to JDRF!

With Gratitude,
The JDRF Georgia Chapter Staff