The JDRF Eastern Pennsylvania chapter and its TypeOneNation (TON) Summit committee would like to sincerely thank all who attended and supported our 2019 Summit on Saturday, February 23. The event was a great success due to your attendance and participation!

The 2019 Summit was educational and celebratory, and we hope everyone had a wonderful time! Did you take the opportunity to speak with presenters, vendors, JDRF staff, volunteers or other attendees? Did you exchange phone numbers with another person or family in your type 1 diabetes (T1D) community? Did you learn something that will improve your life? We hope you did! Knowledge brings strength, strength brings empowerment—and an empowered community will find a cure!

Thank you to the Chubb Hotel and Conference Center staff for the beautiful accommodations and wonderful food, and thank you Integrated Diabetes Services for working with Chef Marcus on the carb counts! Also many thanks to our keynote speaker, Dan Phelan, Esq. We hope that Dan’s story of perseverance in the face of T1D resonated with and inspired you.

About the 2019 TON Summit—and who to thank for it!

The TON Summit is designed to provide information for people of all ages and stages of T1D and their loved ones. Topics for the 2019 event ranged from advocacy on Capitol Hill to in your school; from transitioning from teen to adulthood with T1D, from trending T1D technologies to nutrition for T1D athletes, from intimacy to pregnancy to siblings with T1D, and so much more! Thank you to all of the presenters for sharing your expertise, your generosity, and your time.

After signing in, attendees were greeted by a large group of exhibitors. These resource experts (who some might call “the reps”!) were on hand to discuss whatever people needed to talk about (devices, insulin, camps, product manufacturing, focus groups, antibodies, and more! Our sponsors and vendors are also part of the JDRF community, and we thank them for coming out and showing our guests their spirit (not to mention their products and services!).

A heartfelt thank-you to our 38 volunteers. Some of you collected surveys, many worked with registration, and others helped with directions and miscellaneous jobs. All of you were very helpful, and we are so grateful for your assistance.

Speaking of volunteers—nine of our 38 make up the 2019 Ton Summit committee. This was an amazing team! Without this committee, the event could not have enjoyed such growth and success. The program content and flow, diversity of vendors, and proficiency of presenters all came from your teamwork, talent, and experience. The chapter thanks you for your inspiration, commitment, and dedication; we hope you will all bring your flair and passion to the 2020 Summit!

Let’s keep the TON Summit momentum going!

JDRF Eastern PA is dedicated to educating our community about all aspects of T1D—until type one is type none! If you attended the 2019 Summit, please complete the survey sent last week though Eventbrite, and let us know the topics that you would like to see presented.

If you did not attend and have questions about JDRF outreach resources, please contact CarlaAnn Henry at 610-227-0361 or chenry@jdrf.org. JDRF holds many community-building events throughout the year where you can connect with others impacted by T1D.

Looking to stay engaged through volunteering? Submit your information here. Interested in staying informed about upcoming JDRF events? Stay tuned to our events calendar here.