Aiden, 15 (Lincoln), Alex, 17 (Lincoln) and Brooklyn, 17 (Omaha) of the JDRF Nebraska-Iowa Chapter (jdrf.org/nebraskaiowa) have returned from a once-in-a-lifetime experience in the nation’s capital, where they joined more than 160 youth from across the country July 9-11 as Delegates to JDRF 2023 Children’s Congress.
Throughout the event, these youth—ages four to 17—participated in leadership and character-building programming, interacted with T1D role models including American Ninja Warrior Women’s Champion, Katie Bone; NFL Super Bowl Champion, Orlando Brown, Jr.; Broadcast Journalist, Madison Carter and engaged in a number of activities on Capitol Hill including attending a Senate Committee hearing to share personal testimonies that highlight the challenges of living with T1D and the need for continued Federal funding through the Special Diabetes Program (SDP).
Joining the U.S. Delegates were five International Delegates traveling from Australia, Canada, Israel, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Together, the Delegates conveyed to the Federal decisionmakers that T1D is a global issue that requires a global response.
JDRF has a mission to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications. They do this by funding innovative research, advocating for government action and providing a support structure for our community. For more information, please visit jdrf.org/nebraskaiowa or follow JDRF on Twitter (@JDRFNEIA).