Dearest Friends,

As a new year gets underway, I would love to begin by sharing reasons we all have to feel hopeful. Of course, you are at the top of this list because you are already a supporter of Breakthrough T1D, formerly JDRF. Your support is making it possible for Breakthrough T1D to usher in transformational treatments for those living with type 1 diabetes (T1D). This unprecedented progress and the incredible people around the world who are helping to make it possible give me and my family hope that there are brighter and safer days ahead.

It is hope that inspires and humbles us to serve as the honorees for the 43^rd Annual Breakthrough T1D Greater New England Gala—One Night. The Gala will take place on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport. We are counting on you to join us for this festive and touching celebration. Please bring your dancing shoes too! We are working on some extra special surprises that you will not want to miss.

My family was forever changed when our oldest daughter, Elle, was diagnosed with T1D over Thanksgiving shortly after her eighth birthday. In the days that followed, Breakthrough T1D was with us every step of the way. Our first introduction to then JDRF was the Bag of Hope that Elle received as we left Boston Children’s Hospital. These resources led us to the first clinical trial she participated in less than one month after diagnosis. Elle’s involvement in this clinical trial inspired her to apply for Children’s Congress where she was a participant in 2009 and together, we co-chaired the 2011 Children’s Congress. Along the way, I have served on the Advocacy Committee for the International Board of Directors and as part of the Greater New England Chapter Community Board. Recently, Elle joined the Young Adult Advocacy Council.

In the 17 years since we discovered Elle’s life would be relentlessly impacted by T1D, we have witnessed and experienced the benefits of groundbreaking discoveries made possible, in part, by Breakthrough T1D. When our family was first learning how to help Elle manage life with T1D, she had to prick her little fingers 8-10 times per day and measure, sometimes as little as half, units of insulin in needles that she would inject herself with 10-12 times per day. Today, Elle has an automated insulin delivery system with an integrated continuous glucose monitor that shares her blood glucose data to my phone. I am not sure how we would have made it through Elle’s time as a college student at Harvard without the share feature! I can say unequivocally that this integrated system is the direct result of Breakthrough T1D. In fact, it was the 2011 Children’s Congress advocacy efforts, which led the way to a regulatory pathway for this technology.

Breakthrough T1D recognizes that it is not enough to improve the quality of life for people with T1D. The burden of this disease is a heavy one and real risks remain. In Elle’s life, those risks are most pronounced at nighttime because she does not wake up with low blood sugars. To eliminate the most profound risks, we need more than next generation technology to administer insulin and track blood glucose levels. Breakthrough T1D is tirelessly leading the charge and lighting the way by getting us closer to the day when curative cell therapies are available. Again, I have seen this leadership firsthand because I have the privilege of working with the team, led by Dean Kamen and Maureen Toohey, at the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI). ARMI is developing the capability to scale the manufacture of insulin-producing beta cells. Breakthrough T1D is standing alongside other partners to fund this work, which will make it possible to support clinical trials and accelerate the research and systems required to make cell therapies available on a broad scale.

As you can see, the list of reasons to feel hopeful in 2025 is a long one. But we need you to keep the momentum going! Please come to this year’s Gala! Together, we will commemorate and celebrate to help deliver the curative breakthroughs within reach. If for some very good reason you are unable to attend in person, please consider contributing at bit.ly/gnegala2025.

Thank you for giving us all reasons to celebrate in the year ahead! We sincerely appreciate your consideration and look forward to seeing you in Boston on Saturday, April 5!

Warmest regards,
Stefany Shaheen

Pictured above: Caraline; William; Stefany; her father, The Honorable Bill Shaheen; her mother, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen; her husband, Craig; Annah; and Elle.

BE THE MOMENTUM. BE THE PROGRESS. BE THE CURE.

To purchase tickets, become a sponsor, make a 100% tax-deductible donation to Fund A Cure, and learn more about this year’s Gala, please visit bit.ly/gnegala2025, or contact Breakthrough T1D Greater New England at 781-431-0700 or greaternewengland@breakthrought1d.org.