The Boston Pizza Youth Ambassador Program with JDRF
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's just that we do a few things differently. Like, some of us wear devices. And some of us take needles at every meal. Awareness will mean that, instead of getting looks from the people around us when we do our treatments, people will understand why we have to do them.
As a BPYA, I also get a lot of wonderful opportunities to do public speaking! I count this as my second job.
I recently spoke at the Boston Pizza Foundation Invitational as a BPYA representing JDRF to say thank you to Boston Pizza for sponsoring the Boston Pizza Youth Ambassador Program, and to share how being a BPYA through the Boston Pizza Youth Ambassador Program has changed my life. I was lucky enough to share the stage with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Kids Help Phone, Live Different, and the Rick Hansen Foundation, and to have the incredible opportunity to meet Mr. Jim Treliving of Dragon's Den; his lovely daughter, Cheryl Treliving, the head of Boston Pizza's charitable foundation; and the Unstoppable Tracy, in addition to many other wonderful people.
I feel very blessed to have been given the truly incredible opportunity to speak in front of and to influence and inspire so many people in the audience that night.
When I speak in front of an audience, I feel as though I am in a position of incredible power. Because, whatever I say, my voice is going to make an impact. People will hear the words I speak, and will analyze them. Think about them. Interpret how they relate to their own lives, their own situations and problems, their own thoughts and views on life. Even if they don't want to take what I say to heart, even if they try to ignore it or write me off as a simple fourteen-year-old who doesn't know what I'm talking about, they can never un-hear what I've said. I can say whatever I choose to say and my words will stay with each and every person in the audience for long after my speech is finished. So, when I consider the power I hold in my words, I think about each one I say very carefully. Does it show the kind of person I am? Does it show the way I look at my life? Does it help communicate the main message I want to send?
I use the power I hold in my words to communicate a message to the audience I'm speaking to. Because if I have an opportunity to change the way that even just one person looks at their life, to show one person that you can overcome adversity; if I have an opportunity to be heard, to make a difference, to make change... then I am going to take it.
And everyone has that same power in their words. Everybody has that same power to choose a message, to make an impact, to make themselves tall and their voices big and loud just to make sure people hear it, to have even just one person hear it, think about it, interpret it, take it to heart, let it change the whole way they see their lives... and even the way they look at themselves. Everybody has the beautiful power to make a difference with their voice, with their words.
Just as I choose how I want to use my words when I do public speaking, to tell anyone and everyone who will listen that they can live a beautiful life even with adversity, everyone must make their own choice about how they will use their voice, how they will harness the power of their words.
With whatever adversity life presents each one of us, the one thing that cannot be taken from us is that incredible power.
∽
Thanks for reading this post of That Stupid Pancreas!
If there are any questions/comments/concerns, please don't hesitate to email me about them now.
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Till next time, Type 1 Warriors!
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's just that we do a few things differently. Like, some of us wear devices. And some of us take needles at every meal. Awareness will mean that, instead of getting looks from the people around us when we do our treatments, people will understand why we have to do them.
As a BPYA, I also get a lot of wonderful opportunities to do public speaking! I count this as my second job.
(Me with the Unstoppable Tracy of the Rick Hansen Foundation at the Boston Pizza Foundation Invitational)
(Me with Jim Treliving at the Boston Pizza Foundation Invitational)
I recently spoke at the Boston Pizza Foundation Invitational as a BPYA representing JDRF to say thank you to Boston Pizza for sponsoring the Boston Pizza Youth Ambassador Program, and to share how being a BPYA through the Boston Pizza Youth Ambassador Program has changed my life. I was lucky enough to share the stage with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Kids Help Phone, Live Different, and the Rick Hansen Foundation, and to have the incredible opportunity to meet Mr. Jim Treliving of Dragon's Den; his lovely daughter, Cheryl Treliving, the head of Boston Pizza's charitable foundation; and the Unstoppable Tracy, in addition to many other wonderful people.
I feel very blessed to have been given the truly incredible opportunity to speak in front of and to influence and inspire so many people in the audience that night.
When I speak in front of an audience, I feel as though I am in a position of incredible power. Because, whatever I say, my voice is going to make an impact. People will hear the words I speak, and will analyze them. Think about them. Interpret how they relate to their own lives, their own situations and problems, their own thoughts and views on life. Even if they don't want to take what I say to heart, even if they try to ignore it or write me off as a simple fourteen-year-old who doesn't know what I'm talking about, they can never un-hear what I've said. I can say whatever I choose to say and my words will stay with each and every person in the audience for long after my speech is finished. So, when I consider the power I hold in my words, I think about each one I say very carefully. Does it show the kind of person I am? Does it show the way I look at my life? Does it help communicate the main message I want to send?
I use the power I hold in my words to communicate a message to the audience I'm speaking to. Because if I have an opportunity to change the way that even just one person looks at their life, to show one person that you can overcome adversity; if I have an opportunity to be heard, to make a difference, to make change... then I am going to take it.
And everyone has that same power in their words. Everybody has that same power to choose a message, to make an impact, to make themselves tall and their voices big and loud just to make sure people hear it, to have even just one person hear it, think about it, interpret it, take it to heart, let it change the whole way they see their lives... and even the way they look at themselves. Everybody has the beautiful power to make a difference with their voice, with their words.
Just as I choose how I want to use my words when I do public speaking, to tell anyone and everyone who will listen that they can live a beautiful life even with adversity, everyone must make their own choice about how they will use their voice, how they will harness the power of their words.
With whatever adversity life presents each one of us, the one thing that cannot be taken from us is that incredible power.
∽
"No, I won't live unspoken"
-Speechless, Aladdin 2019
"Speak up, because the
day you don't speak
up for the things that
matter to you is the
day your freedom ends."
-Unknown
"Speak your mind,
even if your voice shakes."
-Eleanor Roosevelt
"I will stand up,
I will speak out.
For not to offend,
but to defend."
-Unknown
"Be a voice,
not an echo."
-Albert Einstein
"Apologize if
your words
offend someone.
But never
apologize for
speaking up."
-Unknown
"The only way
to be heard is
to actually
speak up."
-Uknown
If there are any questions/comments/concerns, please don't hesitate to email me about them now.
Don't forget to check us out on Instagram by clicking here!
And check us out on Facebook by clicking here!
Do you want to receive email notifications each time I post something new? Then become a part of the family by clicking the subscribe button at the top of the page.
Till next time, Type 1 Warriors!
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