Meet Safa. Safa is a 9-year-old T1D Warrior and JDRF Advocate who wants to show the world that T1D doesn’t stop her, or the 1.45 million Americans living with T1D. Diagnosed at just one year old, Safa and her family jumped feet first in joining the T1D community and educating others about what it’s like to live with T1D.

Every two years, JDRF Youth Advocates travel from across the country to Washington D.C. for Children’s Congress where they meet face-to-face with Federal decision makers to educate them about T1D and advocate for issues important to our community. 

The Special Diabetes Program (SDP) is one of these critical Advocacy efforts that provides $150 million annually for type 1 diabetes (T1D) research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the country’s premier medical research agency. The SDP complements JDRF’s research efforts, leading to new insights and therapies that are improving the lives of people with diabetes and accelerating progress to cure, treat, and prevent T1D. 

This year, Safa was one of JDRF Pacific Northwest’s Children’s Congress delegates. Safa shared, “Visiting Congress to advocate for the Special Diabetes Program (SDP) was a lifetime experience and super cool! I got to tell important people why it’s important to help kids like me who have type 1 diabetes. I hope they listened and will keep supporting the program so we can find better treatments and eventually a cure one day!” 

JDRF Advocates like Safa, play an essential role in securing Federal government support for T1D research and policies, and to bring treatments and therapies to everyone who needs them. Advocates use the most powerful tools they have—their own personal stories to communicate the financial, medical, and emotional costs of T1D to government, healthcare, and regulatory leaders. You can join Safa and countless others in transforming hope into reality!

Become a JDRF Advocate today and be part of the movement for change! Join Safa and sign up at jdrf.org/advocacy.