Press Release
San Diego Chapter
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
5665 Oberlin Drive, Suite 106
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 597-0240

JDRF San Diego- 2009 Walk to Cure Diabetes Walk Awards

5,000 Walkers Raise Funds for
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)

San Diego, CA –January 22, 2010– On Wednesday night over 300 parents, children and corporate partners gathered at the Hall of Champions in Balboa Park to celebrate the success of the 2009 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Walk to Cure Diabetes. The Walk held on the campus of UCSD on 11/8/09 attracted 5,000 walkers and raised $770,000 to fund diabetes research in pursuit of a cure. The evening was facilitated by Dan Cohen, news anchor at CBS 8 and Ky Snyder, Executive Director of Athletics at USD, who served as the Walk’s Corporate Chair. Top corporate sponsor, Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc., also received the top corporate team award which recognizes the corporate employee team which raises the most funds among the 60 San Diego corporate teams. “Amylin Pharmaceuticals is committed to challenging science and changing lives and we are proud to support JDRF in their mission to find a cure for diabetes” said Alice Izzo, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Amylin. Other top fundraising teams in this category were Dexcom, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Foundation (GNF), BAE, USE Credit Union and Coca Cola Bottling Company of Southern California.

The Walk to Cure Diabetes featured over 200 JDRF family teams. These family teams, which consist of parents, children and friends who are personally affected by diabetes, raised over $300,000. Top family teams included Cousins for a Cure, Team Mac Fights Back, Brooklyn’s Bandits, Walton’s Walkers, The Bassuk Family and Tom’s Team. “I want to look to my future and know that I won’t be that same kid with diabetes and raising money for research will help that come true” said Marin Galewski, age 9, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 6 years old. Twenty teams representing local schools also participated in the Walk, led by top fundraiser Warren Walker School.

Funds raised at the Walk support diabetes research around the world, including San Diego research institutions such as UCSD, La Jolla Institute of Allergy & Immunology and The Salk Institute among others. “JDRF’s mission is to cure diabetes and its complications and we are fortunate to have such tremendous community support here in San Diego. We are extremely grateful to all of our walkers for their support” said Danielle Yockman, JDRF Board President.

In addition to Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., local corporate sponsors included Sony Electronics, BAE Systems, Barona Band of Mission Indians, GNF, GKN Aerospace, QUALCOMM, and Profil Institute for Clinical Research Inc. JDRF’s Walk to Cure Diabetes National Corporate Partners are: Advance Auto Parts, Albertsons, Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., Discover Financial Services, Ford Motor Company, Fresh Market, Lifescan, Marshalls, Old Orchard, UBS, Turner and Walgreens. Unite to Cure Diabetes partners are: Delta Air Lines, and Medtronic MiniMed.

About JDRF

JDRF is a leader in setting the agenda for diabetes research worldwide, and is the largest charitable funder and advocate of type 1 research. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Type 1 diabetes is a disease which strikes children and adults suddenly and requires multiple injections of insulin daily or a continuous infusion of insulin through a pump. Insulin, however, is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating complications which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and amputation.

Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than $1.3 billion to diabetes research, including more than $100 million in FY2009, including centers, grants and fellowships in more than 20 countries.