Meet the Purple Panther Pumpers Walk Team!

Small towns are about community and I love that our community has been so generous to our JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes family team, the Purple Panther Pumpers. Not only do we walk in honor of my daughter, Claire, who was diagnosed at the age of five (now 10 years old) and my brother who was diagnosed over 25 years ago, but we Walk for all those with T1D living in our small community.

The Purple Panther Pumpers team was created over 4 years ago, so we could combine fundraising efforts of three kids living with T1D in our school district. Combining fundraising efforts made sense as we had many overlaps of contacts supporting us. Unfortunately, the number of children with T1D in our school district has now doubled, but the mission of our walk team is still the same – to raise money for a cure.

To raise money, we have ran concessions, hosted a 5K run, recycled cans, hosted spaghetti dinners, sold paper sneakers, had scrapbooking crops, had craft show tables, and raffles.  We’ve had a golf tournament, hosted breakfast, taken local businesses out for lunch, and even “Flushed Diabetes” by taking pledges to place a roaming toilet in front lawns of friends. We’ve been busy and would do it all again to support JDRF and those with T1D!

JDRF has not only been a front line resource for our family, but is the leader in funding T1D research. Thanks to JDRF, technology and medicine have advanced and evolved dramatically since my brother was diagnosed 25 years ago to current day in managing Claire’s diabetes. Of course the end result is to find a cure, but it’s amazing to see the research developments made possible by JDRF. Our efforts as a family team are not only for the benefit of the Purple Panther Pumpers, but for all the faces of T1D.

We hope you will join us at the Walk on August 2^nd and support JDRF. While we walk for a cure, we are also networking and creating friendships that last a lifetime.

Thank you,
Linda Hennessy and the Purple Panther Pumpers