The Nevada Sagebrush

On-campus fundraiser hopes to earn $400,000

eed High School students begin the morning with a group stretch and warm up to prepare for the eight-kilometer Walk to Cure Diabetes held Sunday on the Quad. Photo by Brian Bolton / Nevada Sagebrush

Jadeen Young has participated in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Walk to Cure Diabetes since she was a child, but this year was different.

Until this year, Young, a 21-year-old anthropology major at the University of Nevada, Reno, participated as a family member. Her mother has type 1 diabetes. This year Young walked as a fellow diabetic.

This year’s JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes was held Sunday. The eight-kilometer walk started on the Quad and snaked through the campus in two laps.

“This year is really personal for me,” Young said. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a year and a half ago.

She liked raising money for people before but now it is not just for others. The money goes to research that could make her life much easier.

For Young, the first sign that something was wrong was an unquenchable thirst. She started drinking a Brita pitcher full of water at a time. She didn’t think much of it at first, but her mother wanted to check her blood sugar. It was so high that the doctors were surprised that she was doing so well.

She wouldn’t have known she had diabetes if wasn’t for her mother, Young said.

Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that causes the pancreas to stop producing insulin.

“People don’t realize how much it affects your life,” Young said.

It is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, but Young will need to take insulin for the rest of her life. JDRF hopes to change that.

JDRF raises money for diabetes research through their Walk to Cure Diabetes and other fundraisers.

“Eighty-six cents of every dollar goes directly to research,” Molly Dillon, Northern Nevada Branch Manager for JDRF, said.

They expect 4,000-5,000 walkers and hope to raise $400,000, Dillon said.

Young asked for some donations in person but was most successful through e-mail. She said donating online works better for some people because it is easier to get a receipt for tax reasons.

Donations from most of her college friends were $5 to $10.

“Every little bit counts,” she said. “We are all struggling college students.”

Young’s original goal was to raise $100. As of Friday, she had over $500 in donations.

To Young and Dillon, the walk is about more than just fundraising. It is about community.

“When your child is diagnosed, you are in shock,” Dillon said. “So much of diabetes is just done to you … It is just the most positive thing to be working on something that can help find a cure.”
JDRF is primarily run by families with diabetic children. Dillon started as a parent volunteer and now runs the office.

“It helps to be around others who are in a similar situation,” Young said.

The first Walk to Cure Diabetes on the UNR campus was held in 1994. The first walk had about 500 walkers and they raised $36,000. The walk has been held on campus ever since. The campus was chosen over other places in Reno for its location and accessibility.

“It has always been the heart of town and it’s a beautiful campus,” Dillon said.

Three people on staff at the Northern Nevada Branch of JDRF and about 50 volunteers help organize the walk.

“It is partially a year-round effort,” Dillon said. They constantly work to build relationships with sponsors, but the serious planning starts two to three months before the walk.

JDRF’s ultimate goal is to find a cure for diabetes. Until a cure is found, JDRF tries to improve the quality of life for diabetics.

Researchers are working on smart insulin that can automatically react to sugar levels. Dillon hopes that an artificial pancreas will be ready within five to seven years.

Research has found 200 ways to cure type 1 diabetes in mice, but none of those have worked in humans, Dillon said. She hopes it will someday.

“We want to be out of business as soon as we can,” Dillon said.

Anthony Sodenkamp can be reached at news@nevadasagebrush.com.

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