By Greg Nikkel
Weyburn’s ninth annual “Walk to Cure Diabetes” brought in about $24,000 on Sunday afternoon in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), with 145 people taking part, including the entire Red Wings hockey team.
The fundraiser was held at the City Centre Mall, with the walk held indoors due to the ice and snow on the streets and sidewalks, and featured a silent auction, bouncy house, face-painting and entertainment by singer Karissa Hoffart.
A number of group and business donations were presented at the event, including $1,344 from the students of St. Michael School, $2,741 raised by E. Bourassa and Sons from a series of barbecues held over the summer to support juvenile diabetes, and $1,115 from the RBC Foundation. This year’s total exceeds last year’s total amount of $21,000 for the JDRF, and brings the total over the nine years to over $200,000.
In addition, a silent auction held at a recent Red Wings game brought in over $300, and the chuck-a-puck fundraiser at the game raised another $185, said organizer and emcee Trina Kopec.
Kopec shared her motivation for helping to organize the annual walk, noting that her son Holden, now 16 years old, was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 18 months old, and has had to deal his diabetes on a daily basis ever since, taking four needles a day, every day.
“Words cannot express how difficult it is to see your child struggle every day with diabetes,” she said, as she thanked the large group of participants for attending the event. “You’re giving hope to those who’ve suffered with diabetes.”
Mayor Marcel Roy spoke on behalf of city council, and praised the organizers of the fundraiser.
“It’s wonderful to see our community come together like this. We’ve got such good community support here, and we appreciate the sense of community that you bring,” said Mayor Roy.
He acknowledged that diabetes touches the lives of many people, which he has seen in his own business and in his family.
“City council appreciates all the hard work that goes into an event like this,” he added.
Kopec noted the organization had initially selected Austin Cook, formerly of the Red Wings, to be the ambassador for this year’s walk, but Cook went back to B.C. and wasn’t available for this year’s event.
He did provide some comments to Kopec, as Kopec’s family had billeted him while he was initially here.
“I’ve had to work five times as hard to keep my sugar levels on track. I have to take my diabetes seriously, because I don’t want to let my team or my coaches down,” said Cook.
Red Wings captain Mike Eskra spoke to the audience, noting he has been a part of the annual JDRF walk along with the Red Wings for the last four years now.
“I didn’t know much about Type 1 diabetes until I got to talk to Cookie about his struggles with it. Now I understand, it’s a very serious illness,” said Eskra.
In presenting the donation from E. Bourassa and Sons, Britney Fisher noted they held a series of six barbecues at the Weyburn location, with all proceeds collected for the JDRF fundraiser. She noted that they received donations from both Regens Disposal and Goliath at the barbecues in support of the research foundation.
Kopec explained that the donation from St. Michael School was raised by all of the classes, with two of the classes earning a pizza party for bringing in the most donations as they put up a trail of sneakers on the wall. The Grades 1 and 6 classes together raised about $340, with 45 students from the two classes involved, with the school total reaching $1,344.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. Unlike type 2 diabetes, T1D is not linked to being overweight, lack of exercise or other lifestyle factors. It is not preventable and its cause is unknown.
People with T1D must take insulin via syringe or insulin pump in required doses in order to control glucose levels in their blood. While insulin injections or infusion allow a person with T1D to stay alive, they do not cure the disease, nor prevent long-term complications. Diabetes is the leading cause of amputations, blindness, kidney and heart disease, and other debilitating conditions. It is estimated there are over 300,000 Canadians living with Type 1 diabetes today.
