Every two years, the advocacy offices of JDRF holds their signature Children’s Congress event. This two and a half day event brings together 163 delegates ranging in ages 4 to 17 from all 50 states as well as inviting several delegates from international locations. Children’s Congress is a phenomenal way to become further involved in JDRF by learning about the extensive advocacy work that goes on in Washington, D.C. to support the Special Diabetes Program (SDP) which provides $150 million annually to fund groundbreaking research.

There is something so amazing about spending three days with 162 other T1D’s and their parents. If you haven’t been to a national JDRF event, I highly encourage you to do so. You find yourself in such a supportive and enthusiastic environment. Any signs of burnout completely went away as I was surrounded by dozens of other people who get what the day to day grind of living with T1D is like. This positive environment gave me so much motivation to go meet with members of Congress and share with them my story of living with T1D and ask for their continued support of JDRF. Leading up to the scheduled meetings on the hill, the Advocacy staff of JDRF briefed everyone on how to be an effective advocate for JDRF. They provide updates on what research is being currently funded, and supply a breadth of knowledge on the Special Diabetes Program (SDP), and gave a history of how members of Congress have supported JDRF in the past. We can feel grateful that members of congress in the Northwest have a fantastic track record of supporting JDRF’s efforts, being some of the most vocal and sustained supporters of the SDP.

The experience I had at Children’s Congress in 2015 made a deep impression on me. Since being a delegate, I made the decision to go to college in DC at George Washington University. This decision allowed me to stay connected with JDRF advocacy by having an internship with their office in the spring semester of my freshman year. During my internship, I got to be a part of Government Day which could be considered “Children’s Congress for adults.” I was able to use the advocacy skills I learned during Children’s Congress and apply them to additional meetings with members of Congress from Washington State. In addition to staying in contact with the advocacy office, I also have stayed in touch with two delegates I met in 2015; one of whom is from Fayetteville, Arkansas and the other is from Lincoln, Rhode Island. Having long distance “dia-buddies” has been so fun and is something I didn’t expect to get out of my Children’s Congress experience.

I highly encourage everyone to apply for Children’s Congress. Additionally, apply early and often because it is so competitive that it is unusual for a delegate to get accepted on their first try. I applied three times before being accepted in my final year of eligibility. The day I found out I had been invited to be a part of Children’s Congress was even more exciting than finding out I had gotten into George Washington University. This opportunity to participate in Children’s Congress is one benefit of living with T1D and being connected with JDRF, after all, how many adults or kids can you think of who can say they’ve personally met with their member of Congress?

Applications are now open for the 2019 Children’s Congress! Apply online at the JDRF Children’s Congress page. Questions? Please contact Karis Tsolomitis, Outreach Manager at ktsolomitis@jdrf.org or call 206-708-2240.

Written by: Caroline Malone