This week’s Family Team Spotlight is Kayden’s Krew! This year they have already raised over $2,300. Kayden’s Krew has been participating in the Walk to Cure Diabetes for 7 years. They walk for 13 year old Kayden who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) when she was 18 months old. Shellie Tallent, Kayden’s grandmother and team captain for Kayden’s Krew, said, “Our family team consists of about 30 members: Kayden’s cousins, aunts, grandmas & grandpas, lots of friends, classmates & softball teammates. Kayden designs her own team t-shirt each year which is a lot of fun for her. [It’s] something she looks forward to every year.”

One of the ways that Shellie and Kayden’s Krew have been successful in fundraising is by making a short video telling Kayden’s story. “I use this video with everything I do. I send out around 20 corporate letters to businesses in our community via the mail, telling the story of when she was diagnosed with the address of the YouTube link to view her video. I also send out around 30 to 40 e-mails with the video link attached. I believe this gives everyone some insight into who Kayden is & makes them feel closer to her so they want to donate on her behalf. It makes it more personal. I’ve found the biggest fundraising tool though, is social media. Facebook has reaped the biggest results. I use the JDRF links & repost her video each morning & afternoon on my page with a short blog about how I’m feeling or how appreciative I am of the people who have given a gift. I’m very thankful & I certainly let my friends on Facebook know that. Of course when you have a person as incredibly brave as Kayden it’s easy for me to ask for donations or talk about her. Maybe it’s the grandma role that makes it so easy for me to do.” –Shellie Tallent.