Once again, the Westchester/Fairfield/Hudson Valley Chapter had an outstanding Kids Walk to Cure Diabetes season! Our 2015/2016 walks kicked off with Otisville Elementary School and they hit it out of the park once again, raising over $12,800 for T1D research! Wrapping up the year was a first-year participant, Highland Elementary School whose students raised over $8,600! In between we had many returning and new schools participate. A total of 19 schools held Kids Walks and they collectively raised over $58,000! Perhaps the biggest benefit of all is how many children learned about type 1 and type 2 diabetes, the importance of a healthy diet and regular exercise all while being kids helping kids: over 8,600 students participated in the Kids Walk to Cure Diabetes program this past school year!

Here are just a few of the highlights of the year:

• 8 of the 19 schools were first time participants this year raising $21,586!
• Johnson Elementary School returned to the Kids Walk program after a one-year hiatus and raised over $3,500!
• One 2^nd grade class at Hurlbutt Elementary School raised $2,922 in one week!
• Otisville Elementary School returned for the 8th year and has now raised over $70,000!

In addition to all our school walks we received donations from several area schools for a variety of small fundraisers. The KC Club at Stadley Rough Elementary School in Danbury held a charity dance after school and designated Breakthrough T1D as the beneficiary donating $350. The Pockets of Hope group at Scotts Ridge Middle School in Ridgefield included Breakthrough T1D as one of the 8 charitable organizations that they donated the proceeds of their annual fundraising efforts: Breakthrough T1D received a check for $1,000! Somers Intermediate School also held a Breakthrough T1D fundraiser this year and they raised almost $500 for T1D research.

We thank all our families and school coordinators who helped us expand our Kids Walk program. Very special thanks to Caleigh Duggan and David Peterson for all their help with Highland Elementary School’s very successful event. Caleigh and David recruited their former school, executed the presentations and participated in the celebratory walk! As mentioned above, Highland Elementary School raised over $8,600: a wonderful accomplishment for both the students and our volunteers, Caleigh and David.

We look forward to returning to all our current participating schools in the 2016/2017 school year. To learn more about Breakthrough T1D’s Kids Walk to Cure Diabetes Program and how your school can participate, visit kidswalk.jdrf.org or contact Daryl Woolsey at 914-686-7700 or dwoolsey@BreakthroughT1D.org