October 2016 Spotlight: Zander Clem
About a year and a half ago, on February 23, 2015, 12-year-old Alexander Clem was diagnosed with type one diabetes. The next day Alexander’s dad, Zander Clem, called the JDRF Central Florida office and reached out for some guidance on their new way of life. As the Clem family became more familiar with JDRF as an organization as well as the great individuals and families involved in our chapter Zander has thrown all of his efforts into raising money for research and T1D awareness.
Zander and his family initially became involved with JDRF out of fear. Upon Alexander’s diagnosis Zander remembers feeling “freaked out”. He called the JDRF office the next day and then the following day had lunch with some of the office staff. JDRF provided the support the Clem’s were looking for at their time of need so Zander immediately sought opportunities to get involved and contribute anything he could. “JDRF has given me hope that one day my son will be free of shots and glucose monitoring and that’s what drives my fundraising.” Zander jumped in head first by chairing the Board of Ambassadors for last year’s Imagine Gala – only nine months after Alexander’s diagnosis – and is doing so again this year. His drive in working so hard as the Board of Ambassadors Chair is out of 100% devotion to his son and others living with T1D. He sees the daily struggle that Alexander and the whole family, especially his wife, Carmen, go through. “Dealing with T1D as parents is like blood sugar. There are highs and lows, but Alexander handles it well and is typical active teenager.”
About two months ago the Clem family had the opportunity to visit the UF Diabetes Institute and meet the director, Dr. Mark Atkinson. “Dr. Atkinson told us that most of their funding is from JDRF and without JDRF there is no funding for research.” Zander recalls from the trip. This visit has made Zander “more focused than ever to raise money and awareness not just for one year, but until there is a cure.”
The Central Florida Chapter is so thankful for Zander’s devotion to JDRF’s mission. He has pulled his resources together in a mighty way from writing letters to friends and family raising awareness of T1D and JDRF to getting his partners and staff at Morgan & Morgan involved as the Presenting Sponsor for both the 2015 and 2016 Imagine Gala.
This year is our 10th Annual Imagine Gala and will be held on Saturday, October 29th at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel. Click the link below to see how you can get involved and even make a Fund A Cure donation, which goes 100% to research, and help work toward the cure for Alexander and millions of others like him. Thank you!