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The Foundation for
Diabetes Education, a not-for-profit organization, enables firms and
philanthropic individuals to convert their dollars, products, and/or
services into tax-deductible donations that will assist the
Foundation in its mission of identifying and educating children with
Type 2 Diabetes, and to enable them to make the transition to a
lifestyle that will lessen the likelihood of the crippling
complications of this insidious disease.
Often, Diabetes is
not fully evident until 10, 15 years or more after its start.
Recently published statistics of a dramatic 70% increase in the
diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes among 30 to 40 year-olds indicates that
the disease is now getting a grip at a much earlier age than ever
before.
Therefore, now,
more than ever, it is imperative to increase our teenagers'
awareness of Diabetes and encourage beneficial changes in their
lifestyle before the disease takes hold.
The Foundation for Diabetes
Education is
at the very forefront of this movement.
In 1999, Sherm Scheff
and Steven M. Finger created The Foundation for Diabetes Education.
An early supporter was the Desert Healthcare District (of Palm
Springs, CA) with a $25,000 grant and LifeScan (of Johnson &
Johnson) which provided
$40,000 in supplies.
This enabled The
FDE to provide FREE testing for more than 5,000
children from the Coachella Valley, Desert Sands, and Palm
Springs Unified School Districts.
The
potential impact of that program was tremendous – children
who may have waited as long as 15 years(!) before seeking help for
then-irreversible complications of kidney and nerve damage,
blindness and impotence were able to take steps immediately to
prevent a tomorrow of sorrow.
The FDE we will be
making this
program available to the more than
one hundred thousand secondary schools nationwide,
providing them with a similar opportunity to stymie the progress of
this disease among our children.
Via this
program, children's blurred vision, night sweats, excessive
thirst, frequent urination, irritable moods, lost feeling in fingers
and toes, or even short-term memory loss may be traced directly to
untreated Diabetes.
It’s a
fact: last year, nearly 200,000 people lost their lives to the
complications of Type 2 Diabetes – many of whom would be here today
had they known earlier that they had had it, and what to do about it.
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Education is at
the very heart of the Foundation’s mission |
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Diet. Exercise.
Medication. What to look for, and what not to do. The teenagers we
reached, once informed of the consequences of Type 2 Diabetes,
wanted
the educational programs The FDE provided. These were open
and free to both the teenagers and
their parents.
And with a broader reach
than ever before, The FDE is actually 'connecting-up' to those who
do have the disease thru a special 90-day program. It is available
through the FDE absolutely without charge.
Participants will be mailed a special computer cable enabling them
to upload all the information in their glucose meter right into
their computer. Instantly, it will be graphed on their computer
screen.
Then, if you wish, it
can be sent for review by a Certified Diabetic Educator. The
participant will receive information back, again free of charge.
Teenagers (or their
parents) who have the disease but do not have a computer will be
provided a device that will send the same information, but by
phone! They will receive the review of their information by mail.
Again, this service is free of charge.
All services are
provided FREE:
Participants,
without charge, can receive answers for dozens of
different situations (from foot ulcers to malfunctioning meters,
exercise, meal planning, emotional stress, and more).
In all, The Foundation
enables early detection of Type 2 Diabetes among our teenagers and
the prevention of more severe complications, transforming a bleak
outlook into a roadmap to an extended and rewarding lifestyle. We
invite and would appreciate your participation in these special
programs. |
