Dear Supporters of JDRF:

A couple of years ago our JDRF Board of Directors and staff began to describe the thousands of individuals, families and corporations who passionately support our mission of turning Type One into Type None as our “JDRF Family.”   You are an integral part of that family and on behalf of the staff and Board of Directors I want to thank you for your incredible commitment of time, talent and treasure.   The love, compassion and enthusiasm you bring to our Family and this important mission is an inspiration to us all.   Thank you, thank you, thank you for all that you do!

And, most importantly, with your support and the support of others in your collective networks who have made donations to JDRF, we are making great progress.  Over the past five years that I have been on the JDRF Board, we have seen the advancement of some incredibly exciting new therapies and products that will have a dramatic impact on the lives of kids and adults living with T1D.   Innovations like the “artificial pancreas” and “beta cell encapsulation” and “smart insulin.”

The future is indeed very bright, but we have more work to do.  We look forward to and very much appreciate your continued support.

This is the beginning of the holiday season where “Family” becomes even more important.  So, with that in mind I wanted to share some “JDRF Family News” with you.

• Our Indy One Walk was held on October 3^rd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and was a big success.  We had 2100 Walkers participate and we raised almost $600,000 that day for T1D research.   Thanks to the many corporations and families who supported the Walk, with a special thanks to the Indiana Pacers for hosting us all in their home.   We welcome your comments about the Walk and you can send those to Nancy Carr at ncarr@jdrf.org.
• We have JDRF Walks coming up next Spring in Evansville and Fort Wayne so if you are in those regions and want to get involved just call the JDRF office at 317-469-9604.  We would love you, your family and your company to join us and to make those Walks successful as well.
• Our annual JDRF Promise Gala has become the “Best Gala in Indy” each year.   The 2015 Promise Gala raised $980,000.   We are expecting a sold out Gala in 2016 with over 1000 people and are determined to make the 2016 Promise Gala our first $1 Million Gala!  The date is April 23^rd at the JW Marriott Hotel in Indianapolis.  Don’t miss it!
• November is National Diabetes Awareness Month.   Please help us continue to expand our JDRF Family by spreading the word about JDRF to others; and also look for special events, promotions and activities coming up this month.
• I want to let you know that on September 28^th Linda Gann became the Executive Director for JDRF Indiana.   Linda has a long history with JDRF and very passionate about our mission.   We are delighted to have Linda in this important role.  You will see and hear much more from Linda in the coming months.

My very best wishes to you and your family during the upcoming holiday season, and again thanks very much for being an important member of our JDRF family too.