Over the weekend, we attended our second Breakthrough T1D Walk! Our first walk last year was incredibly moving, bringing together individuals, children, and adults living with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) just like Kay. When I think about joining the Breakthrough T1D Walk, I feel something powerful: hope. This isn’t just another fundraiser; it’s a gathering of families, friends, and allies united around a shared mission — to change what life looks like for people with T1D, now and in the future.
What is Breakthrough T1D? Formerly known as JDRF, originally the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Breakthrough T1D has been a cornerstone in the T1D community since 1970. While the original name focused on children, the organization now recognizes that T1D can be diagnosed at any age, and their mission reflects that: to cure, prevent, and treat T1D and its complications for everyone. Today, Breakthrough T1D is a global nonprofit organization focused on accelerating research, shaping policy, and improving access to care. Their research strategy includes autoimmune therapies, cell therapies, glucose control technologies, and prevention of complications, with the goal of enabling the body to make insulin again or stop T1D before it develops, while providing tools to help people live their best lives in the meantime.
Over the decades, Breakthrough T1D has supported major breakthroughs, from the development of the A1c test and the first insulin pump to disease-modifying therapies like teplizumab (“Tzield”), which delays the onset of clinical diabetes in high-risk individuals. Their rebrand to Breakthrough T1D in 2024 reflects a renewed focus on breakthroughs at all levels of the disease, honoring their legacy while looking to the future.
The Breakthrough T1D Walk is more than a walk, it’s a movement. These events bring together thousands across communities, in person and virtually, to raise funds for research, advocate for policy change, and strengthen the T1D community. Every dollar raised fuels critical science. In 2024, Breakthrough T1D invested $146 million directly in research and helped catalyze another $375 million through public-private partnerships, for a total leverage of $521 million in T1D research. The funds support prevention, better therapies, clinical trials, and initiatives like Centers of Excellence studying complications such as heart and kidney disease, as well as advocacy efforts for federal programs like the Special Diabetes Program.
For families like ours, the Walk is deeply personal. When Kay was diagnosed, our lives changed overnight, full of carb counting, insulin dosing, blood sugar checks, and sleepless nights. Walking with the Breakthrough T1D community feels like reclamation, a day when we move forward together toward a future where T1D doesn’t define a child’s life. It’s a chance to support meaningful research, connect with parents who understand the weight of this journey, and show hope for better therapies and a cure.
Whether you walk to support someone you love, believe in research, or simply want to fight for change, the Breakthrough T1D Walk sends a powerful message: this disease matters, the community is strong, and we are committed to progress. On Walk day, I walk for Kay, for every child and adult living with T1D, for the parents who worry through every night, and for the scientists dedicating their careers to life-changing therapies. As we move forward together, we’re building connection, visibility, and momentum, investing in a future where T1D is no longer something to manage, but something we’ve learned to overcome. Until that future comes — until devices are optional, until insulin independence is possible, until every person with T1D has access to the therapies they need — I will walk. Because every step matters.