Until research is successful in finding a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D), JDRF is committed to providing support and resources for those living with this disease. It is for this very reason that JDRF created the T1D Care Kit, an educational outreach resource. This sling-style bag is offered to adults (age 16 and over) who have been recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and provides important information and resources during their time of transition. It includes materials for adults that focus on life stages. The kit will also serve as the introduction to JDRF, our partners, our support network, and our mission. The T1D Care Kit can be obtained from chapter offices at no cost through partnerships with JDRF sponsors Medtronic, Novo Nordisk, Hope Paige, and Bayer. Please contact Dan Lennon at dlennon@jdrf.org if you are interested in a T1D Care Kit for yourself or a loved one.

Register today for our chapter’s biennial Outreach event – our highly anticipated education conference, Living Well with Diabetes: Now and in the Future – to be held Saturday, March 28, 2015 at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel. This year, we will again be partnering with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to deliver educational and community building opportunities for those living with type 1 diabetes. Learn how you can live well now and also be inspired by the exciting new technological advances that will shape our future. Please visit www.jdrfeasternpa.com to sign up!

In an effort to advance the Outreach program in the Eastern PA/DE Chapter, we’re looking to host a wide variety of support events and we welcome any creative ideas that you might have! Our next event will be our Lunch and Learn at the JDRF office in Bala Cynwyd on January 28. The topic for this Lunch and Learn will be the Emotional Wellbeing & Type 1 Diabetes. We will have a candid discussion on the emotional impact of type 1 diabetes: how to manage the ups and downs with Barbara Nagel, LCSW. Barbara is a well-respected family therapist working exclusively with children, teens, andfamilies living with T1D. To RSVP, please contact Dan Lennon at dlennon@jdrf.org.

Our Kids Walk Program ­– Educating Schools All Over Eastern PA! It has been another strong start to the school year for the JDRF Kids Walk program. In addition to the school teams who walked on October 26, we had a multitude of schools participate in events at their schools. The JDRF Kids Walk program is an educational, in-school fundraising program with two goals: to educate students about type 1 and type 2 diabetes and to raise much-needed funds for the mission of JDRF. We tailor the program to meet the school’s educational curriculum and make the fundraising easy and fun for everyone involved. Schools can even earn prizes for their students, a banner for the school, and an optional 10% (of the funds raised) back to the school! Equally as important, it gets the children involved and engaged in creating a world without type 1 diabetes. If you had a Walk team at the OneWalk on October 26, funds raised at your school can be credited to that team. JDRF Eastern Pennsylvania has had more than 10 schools participate so far this year with even more scheduled in the Spring 2015. For more information, please contact Dan Lennon at dlennon@jdrf.org.