HELP A DIABETIC CHILD AWARDED RICHARD M. SCHULZE FAMILY FOUNDATION GRANT

HELP A DIABETIC CHILD AWARDED RICHARD M. SCHULZE FAMILY FOUNDATION GRANT TO ASSIST CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS

 Help A Diabetic Child (HADC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting local children and families who are dealing with diabetes, today announced that it has been awarded a $23,000 grant from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation.

These funds will be used to support underserved children and young adults in Southwest Florida who have Type 1 diabetes and cannot afford life-saving insulin, diabetes medical supplies and medical services. Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to naturally regulate the body’s blood sugar, leaving diagnosed individuals with a life-long dependency on costly medical insulin.

“We are grateful to the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation for their support of those who are under the financial strain that comes with managing Type 1 diabetes,” said Tami Balavage, Founder/President for Help A Diabetic Child. “This grant will help ensure that every child and young adult receives the care they deserve without financial obstacles,”

The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation was created in 2004 by Best Buy founder Dick Schulze to “support transformational change for the benefit of mankind.” The Foundation has consistently directed its primary efforts and resources toward matters of importance in human and social services, education, and health and medicine with a geographic emphasis on the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and Collier and Lee counties.

Help A Diabetic Child was founded in Naples in 2010 by Balavage after her 16-year-old son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It quickly became evident that there was a significant number of children who were unable to get adequate medical supplies for blood glucose testing and insulin injections, which must be done multiple times daily.

Statistics show that the number of Americans being diagnosed with diabetes continues to rise at alarming rates. The American Diabetes Association reports that almost 10 percent of the population has diabetes, while another 8 million are undiagnosed. In addition, the ADA reports that 86 million Americans over the age of 20 years have pre-diabetes.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows a nearly 30 percent increase in Type 1 diabetes diagnoses in the United States, with youth cases growing most sharply among diverse populations.

Diagnosed cases of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are surging among youth in the United States. From 2001 to 2017, the number of people under age 20 living with Type 1 diabetes rose 45 percent and the number living with Type 2 diabetes grew by 95 percent.

To learn more about the Help A Diabetic Child Foundation or to support its mission of providing life-saving supplies and services, visit online at www.helpadiabeticchild.org.

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