That Stupid Pancreas!

I have been a Boston Pizza Youth Ambassador (which, for the rest of this post, I am going to refer to as a BPYA because that's considerably shorter) for JDRF since November 2018, and I am loving every minute of it! As a BPYA, I have two main jobs. My first job is advocating for Type 1 diabetes and raising awareness through JDRF (the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). At each JDRF event I volunteer at, I answer questions that people have about Type 1. I explain about the fact that it's an autoimmune condition, and that "eating too much sugar" or "not exercising enough" has nothing to do with being diagnosed with Type 1. Basically, I help to end diabetes stereotypes by educating people who don't know what Type 1 is. Advocacy and awareness go hand in hand. Advocacy leads to awareness, and awareness means that T1Diabetics can fit into society normally. Actually, we're already doing that. T1Diabetics are already a normal part of society, it

This year's Sun Life Toronto Walk to Cure Diabetes for JDRF was at CANADA'S FREAKING WONDERLAND, and I really enjoyed participating in it and seeing all the people who came out to show their support! The Sun Life Walk to Cure Diabetes for JDRF brings together 35,000 Canadians across sixty communities in the country affected by Type 1 diabetes -- T1Diabetics, their siblings, their friends, their cousins, their aunts, their uncles, their parents, their Scout leaders, their teachers -- to unite, get loud, and raise money to accelerate the pace of Type 1 diabetes research. The Toronto Walk raised about $450,000 this year! A bunch of my family and friends came out to walk with me, which I greatly appreciated and enjoyed! There were 3,000 participants in the Toronto Walk this year! The weather was absolutely perfect! Not too hot, not too cold. All in all, it was just an incredible experience. Everyone we met was really enthusiastic