HELP A DIABETIC CHILD RECEIVES $10,000 GRANT

HELP A DIABETIC CHILD RECEIVES $10,000 GRANT FROM ADVENTHEATH, EXPANDING SERVICES TO CENTRAL FLORIDA

Help A Diabetic Child (HADC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting underserved, uninsured and underinsured children and young adults who live with diabetes and struggle financially, announced that it has been awarded a $10,000 grant from AdventHealth.

This grant will cover the cost of life-saving insulin, diabetes medical supplies and physician visits for children in need in the Central Florida area.

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is a chronic (life-long) 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. Without daily insulin injections and blood sugar monitoring, a child can only survive a few days.

“We are seeing an increase in need for our services in Central Florida for children who live with T1D or who have been newly diagnosed,” said Tami Balavage, Founder/ President for HADC (FEATURED PHOTO). “The need is particularly acute in schools where diabetes medical supplies are needed to control glucose levels, enabling students to remain in class. We are grateful to AdventHealth for helping us reach these children in need.”

AdventHealth, also known as the Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corporation, is a Seventh-day Adventist nonprofit organization headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida, that operates facilities in 10 states across the United States.

Established in Naples in 2013, Help A Diabetic Child supports underserved children, young adults and their families in parts of Florida and Pennsylvania who live with Type 1 diabetes and who cannot afford insulin, diabetes medical supplies and medical services.

The nonprofit organization was founded by Tami and Joe Balavage after their 16-year-old son was diagnosed with the disease. 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 with diabetes continues to rise at alarming rates. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11.6 percent of the U.S. population has diabetes, or about 38.4 million people. Of these, roughly 29.7 million have been diagnosed with the condition, and another 8.7 million are unaware they have it.

Diagnosed cases of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are surging among youth in the United States. From 2001 to 2019, 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.

For additional information or to support HADC’s mission of providing life-saving supplies and services, please call 239-821-5051 or visit www.helpadiabeticchild.org .