We're running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon...(yet) again!
Brendan gives an insulin shot during Owen's diagnosis hospitalization
We're going for a three-peat by running the Chicago Marathon for the third year in a row! (You can read more about our previous journeys from the sidebar on the left.)
As you probably know, diabetes is a disease that has impacted our family. Kirstin’s dad was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was a teenager, a disease that has no known cause and no known cure. When he died in 2009, we created this 501(c)(3) memorial scholarship in his name. The kick-off fundraiser in 2009 raised over $30,000, and it has been a sustainable fund ever since, the goal of which was to award scholarship money to diabetic Massachusetts residents who pursued higher education or attended camps to learn how to manage their diabetes.
Little did we know that our son Owen would go to those camps after he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 9 in December of 2013. Owen has been to three different camp programs at The Barton Center for Diabetes Education with various members of our family, so we’ve seen firsthand how beneficial their work is in supporting and educating diabetic children and their families. Read about one of those amazing camp experiences and learn more about diabetes here, and watch a 10-year old Owen talk about the power of camp at the bottom of this page.
Diabetes, even with health insurance, is not cheap. Nor is the camp. All meals, health care, and diabetic supplies are included, but to attend one week of overnight camp costs over $1,200. Insurance does not cover any of it. It is not considered a tax-deductible medical expense, nor can parents write it off as dependent care because it is an overnight camp. Many campers travel from other states and countries because such camps do not exist where they live, so there is the additional expense of getting to Massachusetts.
We are fortunate we can provide these experiences for Owen because we have seen proof with our scholarship recipients and the teenage counselors we met that the camp is a game-changer in their lifelong diabetes care. We feel strongly that every child with Type 1 diabetes should have the opportunity to spend at least one week at camp, so in 2014, we made camp sponsorships and educational programs the fund's sole purpose.
In 2014, we ran to raise over $4,000 for the memorial scholarship fund to provide diabetes camp sponsorships via Camp Joslin and Camp Barton for families who could not attend without financial aid. (Click here to read one of the thank you notes we received from a camper!)
In 2015, Boston's Joslin Clinic invited us to run for their team, and we raised over $4,000 for diabetes research. Joslin Clinic actually managed Kirstin’s dad’s care when he was first diagnosed. Joslin’s mission is to prevent, treat and cure diabetes, and their vision is a world free of diabetes and its complications. Of course, this is the world we want for our son and others living with this disease.
This year, we are turning our efforts back to our labor of love, the Dr. Thomas N. Pesola Memorial Scholarship Fund, to send more children to camp.
No donation is too small, and every donation is tax-deductible. Thank you for your support. We will think of you and your kindness, especially when those 26.2 miles seem like a million!
- Kirstin & Brendan
We are fortunate we can provide these experiences for Owen because we have seen proof with our scholarship recipients and the teenage counselors we met that the camp is a game-changer in their lifelong diabetes care. We feel strongly that every child with Type 1 diabetes should have the opportunity to spend at least one week at camp, so in 2014, we made camp sponsorships and educational programs the fund's sole purpose.
In 2014, we ran to raise over $4,000 for the memorial scholarship fund to provide diabetes camp sponsorships via Camp Joslin and Camp Barton for families who could not attend without financial aid. (Click here to read one of the thank you notes we received from a camper!)
In 2015, Boston's Joslin Clinic invited us to run for their team, and we raised over $4,000 for diabetes research. Joslin Clinic actually managed Kirstin’s dad’s care when he was first diagnosed. Joslin’s mission is to prevent, treat and cure diabetes, and their vision is a world free of diabetes and its complications. Of course, this is the world we want for our son and others living with this disease.
This year, we are turning our efforts back to our labor of love, the Dr. Thomas N. Pesola Memorial Scholarship Fund, to send more children to camp.
No donation is too small, and every donation is tax-deductible. Thank you for your support. We will think of you and your kindness, especially when those 26.2 miles seem like a million!
- Kirstin & Brendan
