Bill and Kimberly Chisholm, together with their children Will, Aidan, and Quentin, are a resilient and exuberant bunch. They navigate around all obstacles to achieve their ambitions – from academics and career to soccer and fashion. They have developed more grit than they ever wanted. In 2009, when Will was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at the age of twelve, their world was turned upside down. But that same year, the entire family attended their first Spring Fling (now Tee to Table) in Half Moon Bay and they found JDRF. “I was so incredibly happy to see my usually quiet twelve-year-old son out on the dance floor, then up on the sage with the band themselves!”says Kimberly. They have been involved with the event ever since, with Kimberly serving on the committee, the kids volunteering, or the family sponsoring a table. In 2010, they appeared in the event’s Fund A Cure video, sharing their story and inspiring significant contributions in direct support of T1D research.

The Chisholms wanted to do more. From 2010 to 2013, Kimberly served on the JDRF Bay Area Executive Board as VP of Research and as VP of Major Gifts. During her tenure, she also wrote the weekly blog “Lessons Earned: Science, Struggles and Type 1 Diabetes” for the JDRF Bay Area website, which attracted many followers and was syndicated on other chapter websites. Her passion for T1D science has only been heightened in recent years, with research advancements in artificial pancreas systems and encapsulated islet cells.

“If Will could pop into a clinic, receive a little packet of insulin-producing cells and not have to think about T1D for six months (not to mention be in perfect range), that’s the vision that keeps me working toward a cure,” says Kimberly.

The kids are equally involved. In 2013, Will was selected to serve as a California delegate for the JDRF Children’s Congress in Washington D.C. There, he met face to face with some of the top decision makers in the U.S. government to ask for federal funding of T1D research. Aidan, at the age of 12 and 14, produced two fashion shows “Fawn Fashion,” which raised more than $12,000 for JDRF. The entire family has participated in the JDRF Silicon Valley Walk.

Today, Will is an avid soccer player and plans to play for Dartmouth next year. “T1D has made serious athletics – along with serious academics – a real challenge at times,” says Kimberly. “But the kid rose to the challenge and T1D certainly didn’t hold him back.”

For the Chisholms, advocating for and supporting T1D research is a family affair. JDRF Bay Area will honor the family as recipients of the 2016 JDRF Impact Award, to be presented at Tee to Table on March 18 at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay. They have been selected for their exceptional commitment to the JDRF mission to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications. They will continue to do what they can for Will, and for the millions of others affected by T1D. “There is an omnipresent, low-grade worry for anyone with T1D – and anyone who loves that person,” says Kimberly. “A cure would mean ridding myself of that worry. For Will, it would obviously be life-changing. I think we minimize the toll the disease takes because you have to minimize that toll. But wow, would life be better without it.”