Our Youth Ambassadors are breaking boundaries at the 2024 Dream Galas! This year, we have 19 inspiring Youth Ambassadors who are dedicated to supporting JDRF’s mission by sharing their stories of life with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to help others better understand the importance of raising funds for research through the Dream Gala St. Louis and Dream Gala Kansas City.

We want to extend a huge thank you to our Youth Ambassador Spotlight Partners! We appreciate your unwavering support and commitment to creating a world without T1D.

Now, let’s meet our 2024 Dream Gala Youth Ambassadors!

Eve

Meet Eve! She is a St. Louis Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 18 months old. In her free time, she loves to sing, dance, draw and color. To Eve, being a part of the JDRF family means having a support system that knows exactly what it takes to live with T1D. She is excited to be a Dream Gala Youth Ambassador because she believes it is important that everyone is represented when it comes to type 1 diabetes!

CJ

Meet CJ! He is a Kansas City Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when he was 4 years old. In his free time, he loves playing sports and kickball. To CJ, cures for T1D would mean he would have a brand new life! He won’t have to stop and go to the nurse when he is having fun with his friends.

Mila

Meet Mila! She is a St. Louis Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 7 years old. In her free time, she loves to dance. Although dance does change how she manages her T1D, it doesn’t stop her from doing what she loves! Cures to Mila would mean no more needles, no more low alarms, and no more yucky glucose tabs.

Jacob

Meet Jacob! Jacob is a St. Louis Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when he was 9 years old. He loves playing soccer, volleyball, basketball and video games! Jacob is excited to be a part of the JDRF family and a Dream Gala Youth Ambassador this year because it has brought him closer to other kids with T1D and brought support to his parents.

Ruby

Meet Ruby! She is a Kansas City Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 7 years old. In her free time, she loves to do karate, play video games and read. If there was one thing Ruby wished others knew about T1D, it would be that even when there are hard days and our sugars are too low or too high, we do not give up! We can do it!

Evie

Meet Evie! She is a Kansas City Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 7 years old. Evie’s favorite hobbies are choir, gymnastics, swimming and drama club. When asked what a cure for type 1 diabetes means to her, she said it would mean never having to change her insulin pump or Dexcom ever again!

Oliver

Meet Oliver! He is a St. Louis Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when he was 2 years old. In his free time, he loves to play video games, geocaching and playing outside! If there was one thing Oliver wished others knew about T1D, it would be that he can do anything they can do and that his diagnosis doesn’t prevent him from being a typical kid.

Kara

Meet Kara! Kara is a Kansas City Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 9 years old. She loves dancing and art. Cures for T1D would mean the world to Kara! She could be carefree like her friends, dance without feeling crummy when her blood sugar goes low, and be able to focus on learning the steps in dance class instead of hearing her pump alarm go off.

Ava

Meet Ava! She is a St. Louis Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 11 years old. Some of her favorite hobbies include reading, watching tv shows, going to The Fox and playing sports. To Ava, being a part of the JDRF family means she is not alone! She has kids her age who also know what it feels like to have this disease and know what she’s going through.

Adara

Meet Adara! She is a Kansas City Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 5 years old. In her free time, she loves to read and draw! To Adara, cures for T1D would mean more independence and not having to always worry about her blood sugar. She is hopeful with JDRF’s help, we will find better treatments and cures for T1D!

Sophia

Meet Sophia! She is a Kansas City Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 11 years old. In her free time, she loves to sing and dance! Sophia is excited to be a Dream Gala Youth Ambassador and help raise money for JDRF. She is also excited for the opportunity to represent the thousands of kids living with T1D who have to go through the same thing as her.

Morgan

Meet Morgan! She is a Kansas City Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 11 years old. In her free time, she loves to dance! To Morgan, being a part of the JDRF family means having a support system of people to depend on. JDRF has helped her realize that she is not alone in this fight and there are lots of people out there who are going through the same thing as her!

Maddie

Meet Maddie! She is a Kansas City Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 8 years old. Her hobbies include reading, listening to music, going for walks and working out! Maddie is excited to engage her passion for advocacy and to spread T1D awareness as a Dream Gala Youth Ambassador this year.

Ben

Meet Ben! Ben is a St. Louis Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when he was 5 years old. He loves playing video games, hanging out with friends and swimming! To Ben, cures for type 1 diabetes would mean living an easier, less stressful, and possibly longer life.

Jack

Meet Jack! He is a St. Louis Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when he was 7 years old. In his free time, he loves to play football and lacrosse! Jack enjoys being a part of the JDRF family because he’s made many friends through JDRF and loves being a part of a family that always asks how he’s doing.

Jacob

Meet Jacob! He is a Kansas City Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when he was 15 years old. His favorite hobbies are biking and playing football with his brother! If there was one thing Jacob wished others knew about T1D, it would be that even though type 1 diabetes requires numerous decisions each day to manage, he can still live a normal, happy life.

Hailey

Meet Hailey! She is a Kansas City Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 10 years old. In her free time, she loves to dance and spend time with her friends and family. Hailey is excited to be a Dream Gala Youth Ambassador so she help find cures for T1D and support others living with the same disease!

Hunter

Meet Hunter! Hunter is a Kansas City Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when he was 8 years old. His hobbies include playing football, creative writing and hanging out with his friends. Cures for T1D would mean everlasting joy to Hunter! Better yet, it would lift a huge burden off the shoulders of individuals and families effected by this disease.

Madison 

Meet Madison! She is a Kansas City Youth Ambassador and was diagnosed with T1D when she was 6 years old. Some of her favorite hobbies include listening to music, playing guitar, singing and reading! Madison is excited to spread T1D awareness and raise money so that one day she can say she helped as much as she could to cure T1D.