Buffalo, NY — When Jess Hall was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at 19 years old, her family was shocked. The Halls had no family history of T1D, but they were not alone in their surprise. The majority of T1D diagnoses occur in individuals who have no family members with the disease.

Jess and her family experienced a big learning curve as they came to terms with their new normal. As Karen & Sean Hall navigated the world in a new way with their daughter, they were “quite surprised at how few people [understood] what T1D means,” and they decided to help change that.

Karen & Sean own Kitchen Tune-Up Buffalo, and they used their business’ platform to amplify their message. Karen shared, “We wanted to increase awareness and started using our social media platforms to post things about the disease during November – for National Diabetes Awareness Month (NDAM). We took it a step further and donated $500 for every kitchen project we signed in November and December [2023] which was a huge success and allowed us to donate $7000.”

Kitchen Tune-Up Buffalo and the Hall family believe in our vision of a world without T1D. Their dedication to spreading awareness of T1D & their generous donation are helping move JDRF forward, closer every day to that vision. Donations from our Upstate NY Chapter communities help JDRF fund critical research into cures, technology for better T1D management, complications caused by diabetes, and much more.

Though they never imagined this is the cause they’d be supporting, Karen said, “We look forward to continuing our efforts and help JDRF find a cure for T1D.”

Want to share your story with T1D and fundraising for JDRF? We want to hear from you! Email us at upstateny@jdrf.org.