JDRF is the official charity partner of the Brisbane Heat throughout the duration of the league. This partnership has been instrumental in allowing JDRF to promote our new logo and the importance of type 1 diabetes research to a wider audience.

Many JDRF families have attended home games wearing Heat clothing in support of the team. Supporters have called this partnership a “great opportunity for all JDRF kids” and a “fantastic way to promote the JDRF brand and getting the support and awareness out there in the community”.

Children with type 1 diabetes supported by JDRF have also created paintings, drawings, and other creative works to show their appreciation for Brisbane Heat. The players have responded with a video showing their support for JDRF.

Want to show your support? Why don’t you:

1. Contact Brisbane Heat to let them know how much you appreciate their support of JDRF.
2. Encourage your children to create more artworks to send to the Heat players. You can send them to the Brisbane office (GPO Box 177, Brisbane QLD 4001).
3. Spread the word. Tell your friends and family either in person or online to watch the final two Heat games and keep an eye out for the JDRF logo.
4. JDRF volunteers will be ratting donation tins at the last home game on the 17th of January, and we need all the donations we can get! If you or someone you know is going to the game, please consider giving a donation to our volunteers.

Contact our Brisbane office (gharriss@jdrf.org.au or 07 3831 0544) for more information about how you can help!

We look forward to continuing this partnership after the 2011/12 season, and having further opportunities to promote JDRF and the work we do.

The tournament will feature Australian Grand Slam champions Samantha Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt. The rest outstanding lineup includes eight Grand Slamp champions, four current or former World No.1’s, and four previous Sydney winners – it is bound to be a star-studded event!

The Sydney International will run from January 8 to January 14 at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre. It is a great experience for the whole family. Tickets also include access to off-court entertainment at the Live Site and Kids Interactive Zone.

JDRF is looking for volunteers to help fundraise at the event (see Volunteer Information Pack). If you are interested in attending and supporting JDRF, please contact Helen Farrer, Development Manager NSW/ACT on: phone 02 9020 6110 or hfarrer@jdrf.org.au.

Julie set herself the goal of running the London Marathon before the age of 50, and to raise a total of $2800 to be split between JDRF UK and JDRF Australia – mission accomplished! Training for such a big marathon went for six months from October to March, and meant that Julie had 4am training starts in summer to beat the summer heat.

She had lots of support from family and friends. Friends sold Jelly Babies to work colleagues, and other friends sold old clothes and shoes on eBay with all proceeds going to JDRF.

The greatest challenge for Julie came towards the end – running the marathon two weeks after the death of her father. It was particularly challenging as he had planned to be on Tower Bridge with her son Luke during the marathon to look for Julie as she ran.

Since completing the London Marathon, Julie has herself been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes / LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults). She isn’t letting this slow her down though – she plans for her next challenge to be the Jump to Cure Diabetes, and then the City to Surf Perth Marathon!

Julie is one of our many inspiring Team Cure Diabetes fundraisers. To become one yourself, visit www.teamcurediabetes.org.au.

The JDRF community has helped us to support more than 60 Australian research projects in 2011. These projects have one important thing in common – they are all helping move us closer to a better life and a cure for people with type 1 diabetes.

All this, and more, could not happen without the support of you, and the rest of the JDRF community. You can help us achieve more essential type 1 diabetes research.

Our 2011 Christmas Appeal will be arriving in a selection of mailboxes over the next week. Fundraise with us this holiday season and know that your contribution counts. A special gift of $30, $50 or $100 or a pledge of a regular gift from you at this time will make all the difference.

1. Donate online for a quick and easy transaction.
2. Pledge a regular automatic monthly or quarterly gift.
3. Become part of Team Cure Diabetes and ask for donations in lieu of gifts this Christmas
4. Become part of the Danielle Alberti Legacy Society and remember JDRF in your will

You can make a difference this holiday season.

Imagine the feeling when you and your tandem instructor step out of the plane’s door 14,000 feet above the ground … and freefall for 60 seconds at 250km per hour … before pulling the parachute cord … and floating to the ground with views over the local area. Still not convinced? Have a look at Liz Daly who Jumped to Cure Diabetes in 2011 and see the thrill she experienced.

The Jump to Cure Diabetes is being held across Australia in March 2012. Take the ultimate challenge for yourself and type 1 diabetes.

• Jump to Cure Diabetes NSW will be held on Saturday 10th March 2012
• Jump to Cure Diabetes QLD will be held on Saturday 10th March 2012
• Jump to Cure Diabetes ACT will be held on Saturday 10th March 2012
• Jump to Cure Diabetes SA will be held on Saturday 24th March 2012
• Jump to Cure Diabetes VIC will be held on Saturday 24th March 2012
• Jump to Cure Diabetes WA will be held on Saturday 31st March 2012

Numbers are limited so register today! For more information, call 1300 363 126 or see Team Cure Diabetes.

Are you ready to jump?

Christmas and Holiday Cards – Send a traditional message with one of the many designs available. Charity Greeting Cards will donate 40cents from each card ordered + an additional 5% if you place your order by 26th November!

Christmas E-Cards – E-Cards are a fun and interactive, as well as effective and efficient way to quickly get your message out to your clients, family or friends Charity Greeting Cards will donate 20% of each order placed to JDRF.

Christmas Hampers – Choose from a selection of gourmet gift hampers to delight your customers, friends and family. Charity Greeting Cards will donate 10% of each order placed to JDRF.

Donations in lieu of gifts – ask your friends and family to give the gift of research this year by donating to JDRF on your behalf.

Support JDRF this festive season and give the gift of diabetes research. To order online, download an order form, or set up your donation page, simply visit our community fundraising page: Team Cure Diabetes.

Don’t forget that there are many other ways you can fundraise for JDRF throughout the year – at your work, with your friends and family, and within your community. For more information and suggestions of how you can contribute, please contact the Community Fundraising Manager at teamcurediabetes@jdrf.org.au.

Why did you decide to undertake this challenge?
It was my aunty who thought it would be a great idea to raise awareness and funding for JDRF. I was so happy that she decided to do this and it was great to have my family and friends being part of the JDRF team.

What inspires you?
I am inspired to do the fundraising for JDRF because I am hoping that one day JDRF will find a cure. My aunty (Jenny Wickham) has inspired me to do the Pub2Pub run as a fundraiser as she has won it so many times. I saw doing the run as a challenge. I also wanted to show that having Type 1 diabetes doesn’t have to stop you from doing anything.

What support did you need?
My family and friends supported the JDRF team and me.

What preparation did you need?
My mum made sure I had eaten the right food before the race so that my BGL’s would stay at a good level. My fitness was already pretty good because I do a lot of sport.

What was your fundraising goal?
$1000.

What will be the greatest challenge?
The sand at the start of the race, the hills and running in a Smurf costume.

How did you feel after you finish?
Relieved, happy and amazed I could do it.

We would like to congratulate Chloe and her team of participants in the Pub2Pub fun run last month. The team dressed as Smurfs won the Best Dressed prize of $1000 for JDRF. You can show your support for Chloe’s great achievement at her Everyday Hero page.

Jordan’s life includes all the usual activities of an Aussie kid, footy, riding his bike, as well as playing double bass and piano. He and his family try hard not to let the disease affect him, and mum Karen says proudly that he just gets on with things.

But there’s no doubt life would be much better without type 1 diabetes. At age nine, Jordan is very driven to raise awareness and help raise funds.

Jordan’s team for the Walk to Cure Diabetes, the J Walkers, are on track to top their state’s fundraising leaderboard, with funds being raised at community movie nights, by selling space on sponsored Walk t-shirts, as well as other activities.

Jordan says “I want them to try to find a cure – quickly – not just for me but for everyone. Especially the little kids who have to inject every day. Little kids don’t understand why they have to have injections, it’s not nice and it does hurt.”

Help support Jordan’s team the J Walkers – or any other Walker from around Australia – at www.jdrf.org.au/walk

Natalie shares her story and her reasons for supporting Team Cure Diabetes. Read more about Team Cure Diabetes, a virtual team of passionate people who are tackling exciting challenges to raise funds and awareness for type 1 diabetes and support JDRF.

Why Mt Kilimanjaro?!

It began as a passing comment while our family was having dinner on holiday; that we should try and climb Mt Kilimanjaro before dad and mum move back to Australia from Africa. None of us being mountaineers, we joked that the only thing that could motivate us to get fit enough to reach the summit would be raising money for a cause, so here we are!

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by just how many people want to help eradicate diabetes. Perfect strangers are willing to donate money to help great researchers look for a cure and it makes you appreciate that people care so much about each other. I used to think that unless you had the disease, it’s not really your problem, but people keep proving me wrong. I feel like I’m at an age now where it’s my turn to give back to those people and those researchers by doing my bit to say thank you and maybe even inspire someone else to do the same.

What inspired your family?

We’re a very close family and although only I was diagnosed with diabetes, it feels like the whole family has it. For them to agree to this challenge says that we’re all in this together and that we can achieve something huge if we all try and help each other along the way. I think this is absolute proof of how supportive my family has been the whole way. We’ve just managed to convince mum to do the whole climb with us – she’s terrified – but it wouldn’t have been the same if we didn’t do this together.

What preparation will you need for the trek?

The training we’ve been told to do focuses on long distance walking. We need to train our bodies to walk 8-10 hours a day with packs on our back. We’re allowing 8 days to get to the summit – that’s a lot of walking! We’re all looking at our walking boots now, so we can start wearing them in. Unfortunately you can’t train your body to deal with altitude sickness, so we just have to be careful not to try ascending too quickly.

What support will you have?

Mentally, we’ve had overwhelming support so far. We’re not mountaineers, so for people to get behind us and this cause really helps you realise that others believe in you. I was expecting to be told by diabetes professionals that this climb might not be possible as a person with type 1 diabetes, but they’ve been really impressed with our determination and made extra time to consult with me about getting my sugar levels in the best possible control before I leave in July.

What is your fundraising goal?

We’re aiming to raise $5895. It’s a phenomenal amount, but we chose that target because it’s how tall the mountain is in metres. If everyone we know gives us just $10, I think we can get there. The other thing is that it costs around $2000 per person to climb – funds we’re each coming up with ourselves, so by comparison we’re hoping that $10 from everyone isn’t too much to part with..

What will be the greatest challenge?

Raising the money is the obvious challenge. On another note, we have just under 3 months to get fit enough to climb, but we’ve always been a fairly active family and I think we can achieve that goal. The extra challenge I have to be mindful of is managing my diabetes while climbing – my insulin vials might freeze, there’s no ambulances up there and if something does happen to me, it’s up to my family to step in and probably save my life. I’ll need to take plenty of backup medication and probably an extra backpack full of muesli bars given we’re walking all day for 8 days!

How will you feel after you reach the peak?

Even if we don’t get to $5895, we’ll still have raised awareness of type 1 diabetes and the challenges you can achieve despite living with the condition. Mum always told me having diabetes can’t stop you from living your life how you want to. If I can continue to prove her point by getting to the top of this mountain, I’ll be ecstatic.

Whatever happens, we’ll have achieved a massive feat as a family unit and that’s enough for me. Climbing this mountain together is kind of like a metaphor for the rollercoaster people go through when first diagnosed. Conquering My Kilimanjaro will be a physical attribute to what we’ve conquered so far.

Support Natalie’s quest to raise $5895 for JDRF to support medical research.

Or join JDRF’s search to prevent, better treat, and ultimately cure type 1 diabetes.

With a busy job in Adelaide managing several Adelaide Advertiser publications, Malcolm has scant time for unnecessary activities. His diabetes management routine is finely controlled but still subject to those occasional lapses that make us human.

He brings his lunch to work most days, to ensure accuracy of portions and carb count. He briefs his staff about the signs of hypos and has a special hypo emergency drawer at work that is always well stocked.

However, a recent accidental switch of his daytime and nighttime insulin between different pens led to three overnight hypos before the error was discovered. This was a reminder that “control is everything, but very difficult to maintain.”

Diagnosis of type 1 diabetes came relatively late in life, at age 35. Malcolm describes his experience as common to many; he was losing weight and having problems with his eyesight.

Malcolm put his symptoms down to the strain of taking on a new management role in a large department, while renovating a house and having a bad virus. At a party he complained of being endlessly thirsty and a stranger suggested he get tested for type 1 diabetes. The stranger’s instinct was correct.

Looking back Malcolm is a little surprised he didn’t spot his own type 1 diabetes because he had some familiarity with the disease in his own family.

Malcolm’s older brother was also diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at exactly the same age. Curiously, the two men are not actually blood relations. Malcolm was adopted and therefore doesn’t share his genes with his brother. This story speaks to the still mysterious causes of type 1 diabetes, which are the subject of many research projects supported by JDRF.

The Jump to Cure Diabetes will take place on 19 March in South Australia and consists of a tandem skydive that will fulfill a profound double role. Participants will be making an important fundraising contribution to support medical research while also achieving an exciting personal challenge. Read more about the Jump to Cure Diabetes.

It was something Malcolm always wanted to do. ‘Why not?!’

“JDRF’s cause is worthwhile and it is close to me personally. I have this disease until they find a cure.”

“Diabetes means you’ve been dealt a bad hand but there isn’t any point dwelling on it. It’s important to get on with life while also doing what you can to help out.” For the last five years Malcolm has hosted a successful charity golf day to support JDRF and other charities.

As he approaches 20 years with type 1 diabetes, Malcolm is understandably pleased to be in very good health. With two decades of careful management behind him, his bi-annual conversations with his endocrinologist cover all the essentials of monitoring potential complications, but also span wellbeing and maintaining a positive outlook on life with this disease.

Malcolm’s example is a worthy one for an adult life with type 1 diabetes but we watch with interest to see how many people follow him to jump out of a plane…

What’s your secret to maintaining a positive outlook on life with type 1 diabetes? Share your thoughts.