Starting in October you will notice the friendly faces of volunteers going door-to-door canvassing for the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA). I will be one of those faces. I started canvassing for the CDA about five years ago. My decision to volunteer was easy: I was living with two type 1 diabetics and have a family history of type 2 diabetes. Volunteer canvassers help raise funds and awareness with the door-to-door campaign. Proceeds raised from this campaign will fund leading-edge diabetes research and innovative educational programs in Manitoba.
My daughter Emily was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2011 when she was seven years old and in Grade 2. Her first year after being diagnosed was a learning curve for everyone – educating all the people in her life, such as teachers, coaches, instructors, friends and family.
Living well with diabetes means daily, sometimes hourly monitoring of blood sugars, carbohydrate counting, insulin ratios and physical activity. Emily maintains an active lifestyle participating in figure skating, basketball, volleyball as well as having a passion for music and singing. There are never any easy days with finger pokes, insulin injections and high and low blood sugars.
Shortly after Emily’s diagnoses we were told about Camp Briardale, a summer camp in Manitoba for kids living with type 1 diabetes. These D-camps are run across the country through the Canadian Diabetes Association. The camp is staffed by doctors, diabetes educators, camp counsellors and many others. Here, she would spend a week with kids who were living with the same disease and facing the same struggles and journeys. We didn’t hesitate to sign her up. This past summer marked her sixth time attending.
This summer, with being a D-camper, we were offered an opportunity to enter in a draw for the chance to meet Nick Jonas and attend a concert. Nick Jonas is a young celebrity living with type 1 diabetes; he has been an ambassador for the disease and cofounded the organisation Beyond Type 1. The CDA partnered with Sun Life Financial to offer meet and greets and concert tickets at Nick Jonas’s Canadian tour stops. Emily was lucky enough to be selected to attend his Winnipeg show. Here she reconnected with some of her friends from the summer camp and got to experience a VIP backstage event. This concert wasn’t just a chance to meet a celebrity but to meet a celebrity who is living with the same disease and succeeding in a career she has dreams of.
My daughter is my reason to volunteer. Chances are you know someone who is living with diabetes and that is why you volunteer, or maybe you are just looking to get out and support your community while getting an hour of activity. Whatever your reasons are to volunteer know that there are people out there who appreciate your efforts and donations. Watch for the friendly faces of our local volunteers throughout the month of October during the door-to-door campaign. Great volunteers make the campaign a success. We still need canvassers for many streets within our community. For more information on the campaign or if you would like to volunteer please contact the campaign at door2doorMB@diabetes.ca.
