On February 19, 2010, one month after his third birthday, my son Will was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Prior to Will’s diagnosis, I had some exposure to T1D through the son of a close friend.  While I knew how much her son’s diagnosis had changed her life, it wasn’t real until Will’s diagnosis.  From that moment on, I knew that I needed to do something to help. In the past we had walked on my friend’s son’s walk team, but we were now creating our own walk team for Will. We’ve been fundraising for Breakthrough T1D ever since, mostly through the Walk and by organizing our own fundraisers.

We could not have raised as much as we have without the immense amount of support we’ve received from the Chick-Fil-A in Winchester, VA.  The owner/operator, Chuck Guffee, and his daughter, the Marketing Director, Keri Mounts, have a direct connection to T1D and have been so wonderful to work with. In fact, Chick-fil-A has sponsored two of our major events — the Chick-fil-A “Golf Classic” and the Chick-Fil-A “Dash 4 Diabetes” – both in Winchester, VA. Since we’ve held these events we’ve raised approximately $51,000!  We even have a smaller fundraiser coming up on October 26^th at Rutherford Crossing Shopping Center in Winchester, VA, which you can read more about here.

Recently, we had a book written about Will and his fight to find a cure for diabetes. Local author, Jay Foreman, wrote “Super Will Fighting for a Cure” which was released last November. All proceeds from the book go directly to Breakthrough T1D. The book was recently added to the National Breakthrough T1D website and can be purchased at the website’s bookstore.

Our family’s involvement with Breakthrough T1D has become a coping mechanism for me. Knowing that I am helping my son have a brighter and more promising future is unbelievably rewarding. I can’t imagine not helping to find a cure for T1D!

The Breakthrough T1D Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Chapter would like thank the Rimmel family and Chick-fil-A for their steadfast support of Breakthrough T1D.