The holiday season is upon us! That means dreaming of snow, gifting, and delicious meals with loved ones, although type 1 diabetes (T1D) can make that last part a little trickier (see our holiday guides, which offer helpful tips and carb counts for popular foods across cultures).
Some members of the Breakthrough T1D community are using this time of year to bring in a different gift—funding, which powers the innovations making everyday life with T1D better and brings us closer to making the condition a thing of the past.
It’s all possible thanks to Breakthrough T1D’s Your Way fundraising program, which puts you at the controls with your custom campaign idea, while we handle all the tools, resources, and support you need to make it happen.
Sweet treats for a cure
When Cara Hills was growing up, her mother baked cookies for Christmas every year.
“My mother is an incredible baker and cook, there really isn’t anything that woman can’t do in the kitchen,” Cara said. “I loved baking too, and took on the same tradition.”
Each year, Cara would throw a holiday party and send everyone home with a bag of cookies. But in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic meant that was off the table. So, Cara says, she decided to keep baking but would instead sell the cookies to raise money for Breakthrough T1D.
Her youngest daughter, Harper, was diagnosed with T1D in 2017, at just 2 years old—and six months later, Cara’s mom Marianne was also diagnosed with T1D at 63 years old
“Living with T1D means there are no days off and there is no cure, but there is hope,” Cara said. “We wouldn’t make it through without this hope and without the promising progress being made towards finding a cure, which is made possible by the funding from Breakthrough T1D.”
She’s now kicking off year five of Baking to Beat the ‘Betes and is aiming to surpass last year’s numbers—2,172 cookies and over $17,000 raised—with a new goal of $20,000. So far, Cara and her husband Mark have made 877 cookies, and their nanny Jackie has made another 700.
“Based on donations to date, I have at least 400-500 to go, but there are a lot of people that donated last year that haven’t yet donated,” Cara said.
This year, they have two sizes available—a medium cookie box for donations between $50 and $250, and a large box for donations over $250. And each box comes with a homemade Christmas ornament, too.
Lighting up the night
Brandi Stewart’s daughter, Katherine, was diagnosed with T1D on June 14, 2011, when she was five years old. Brandi says that day changed their lives and split their world into “before” and “after,” and that’s why they created Christmas Lights for a Cure to raise money for Breakthrough T1D each holiday season.
“They are not only researching for a cure, but developing new technology to make type 1 diabetes easier to live with,” Brandi said.
The family typically raises at least $10,000 annually with the elaborate, coordinated light and music display outside their house, complete with fireworks (it even has a location pin on Google Maps)!
This year, things kicked off on Monday, December 1 with a taco truck, donuts, and hot chocolate outside the Stewart’s home in Highland, Utah—and the lights will be on from 5:30 to 10 p.m. every day until the end of the month.
The Stewarts are not alone in showing their holiday spirit to support Breakthrough T1D—a newly diagnosed family in San Luis Obispo, California, is following in their footsteps this year! Melissa Gutierrez Hellewell’s daughter Mía started her T1D journey on Valentine’s Day earlier this year, and they’ve turned their Christmas Candy Cane Lane Light Show into a fundraiser honoring her with a goal of $2,200.
And don’t worry—you can also get in on the action by starting a Breakthrough T1D Your Way fundraiser of your own. You’ll be joining a community united by the bold vision of a world without T1D!
