November is always a special time of year. Not only is it the month of Thanksgiving and a time to reflect on all that we are grateful for, but for our type 1 diabetes (T1D) community, it’s a month to help others not familiar with T1D to better understand what it is and what the impact is of living with the disease every single day.

This year, JDRF is featuring T1D Champions.  The most obvious of T1D Champions are those living the disease, all day, every day. Managing this disease takes all the skill and perseverance of a champion athlete, but without the medals or recognition. There are other T1D Champions in our midst as well. We celebrate the caregivers who are always there helping to monitor numbers and manage the highs and lows. They are the ones that help lift T1D’s up when having a down day. And, it’s the larger support system that can make T1D’s lives a bit easier including teachers, co-workers and friends who are there when were not in close proximity of caregivers.

At JDRF and our local Chapter, we recognize the countless T1D Champions that help us each day in fulfilling our mission, whether our advocacy members educating elected officials on the importance of federal funds to support research or policies that can ensure access to care; it’s the thousands of walkers that join us the first Sunday in October to raise money for research or the business community the engages their employees and customers to give back – whether monetarily or through volunteer service; and it’s the volunteers who reach out to newly diagnosed families offering emotional support and encouragement as the begin a new life that includes T1D. These are just a few, yet there are so many more.

We plan to feature T1D Champion stories throughout the month of November on our website and on social media. If you have a story to share, please let us know!  You can also post directly on our Facebook page at JDRF Northern California, on Instagram @norcal jdrf, or Twitter @NorCalJDRF.