Dear Friend,

Please join us at the 42nd Annual JDRF Greater New England Gala–One Night on Saturday, April 6, 2024, at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport. It promises to be a joyful night filled with inspiration and hope as we bring together so many from our community who are impacted by type 1 diabetes (T1D) to celebrate how far we have come, and to renew our commitment to curing and preventing this disease.

Our family’s involvement with JDRF began over 50 years ago when Lisa’s parents, Marilyn and Gerald Fishbone, were among the original founding families of what was then known as “JDF”, following the T1D diagnosis in 1970 of Lisa’s brother Scott at the age of 18 months. Growing up in the same town, and as family friends, Neil knew Scott from a young age and was also familiar  with the challenges of living with T1D. Our own leadership involvement with JDRF began after our son Harris was diagnosed with T1D in 2001 at the age of 5. Despite our experience with Scott, we had no idea how much of an impact Harris’s diagnosis would have on our lives. We both committed ourselves as parents to helping him live a healthy and unrestricted life, without allowing  T1D to be an impediment to his success and breadth of experiences. And we both committed ourselves to doing all that we can to support JDRF and its efforts to conquer T1D.

Lisa has served in nearly every volunteer leadership role at JDRF, locally and internationally. She was President of the Greater New England Chapter and has been a member of JDRF’s International Board for nine years, helping with Governance, Strategy, and Fundraising. And, she has just been elected Chair of JDRF’s International Board of Directors, with her term beginning July 1, 2024. Neil has combined his passion for endurance athletics into a fundraising machine, running Boston and other marathons and competing in Ironman triathlons to raise over $1.2 million for JDRF. He also coaches the JDRF Boston Marathon Team and has inspired many others to follow suit in using that experience as a platform for raising money to fund research that will lead to better treatments and ultimately a cure. It has been a true family affair, with Lisa’s parents remaining engaged locally and nationally until Gerry’s unfortunate passing last January. And Neil’s parents, Joan and Milton Wallack, have taken on many leadership roles as well. And, of course, Harris has also stepped up to the plate as a passionate advocate for JDRF and the T1D community. We could not be more proud of him.

Our family has witnessed firsthand how far we have come in making it safer and easier to live with T1D, thanks to the strategic leadership of JDRF. And it is incredibly exciting to be a part of JDRF’s ongoing efforts to lead the way toward cures for the disease, as we drive the development of beta cell and immunotherapies and work to ensure that they are accessible to the patient community.

We are so humbled to be this year’s Gala honorees and so grateful for the support of our amazing friends, colleagues, and the JDRF community. We look forward to celebrating with you at the Gala all that we have accomplished and to reaffirming our commitment to JDRF and our shared goal of a world without T1D.

With heartfelt thanks,
Lisa and Neil Wallack

BE THE MOMENTUM. BE THE PROGRESS. BE THE CURE.

To purchase tickets, become a sponsor, make a 100% tax-deductible donation to Fund A Cure, or to learn more about this year’s Gala, please visit https://bit.ly/jdrfgala2024 or call 781-431-0700.