Two Pleasanton families think outside the box when it comes to the annual Walk to Cure Diabetes.
It just so happens that both families came up with the same creative idea of hosting a mini-walk for family and friends.
“We decided to do our own walk so that everybody could find parking, we could start it a little later, we could do a big barbecue and then everybody can stay and swim,” Pauline Thomas said of her family’s homegrown walk.
“It is a big party,” Pauline said. “We provide all the food and drinks. There are 50 people, probably. It is more work, but it’s worth it because we get to spend time with everybody.”
The Thomas family, which also includes dad Chris and little sister Julia, did their first Walk to Cure Diabetes in 2003, a year after son, Noah, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
The family decided to support Breakthrough T1D because “they were the only ones that sounded like they wanted to find a cure for Noah,” Pauline said. “There weren’t other groups that seemed interested in finding a cure for type 1 diabetes. I also liked that it was started by parents.”
Noah, 5 years old for the family’s first walk, named their team Noah’s Ninja Turtles. The name has stuck, even though Noah’s now 15 and a high school sophomore.
Noah enjoys hosting a walk each year because “whether (Breakthrough T1D is) working toward a cure or treatment, it’s to make my own life better and everybody else who has type 1,” he said. “I look forward to the day when somebody gets cured or seems to be cured with an artificial pancreas.”
The Thomas family lived in the South Bay when Noah was diagnosed, so they did the Silicon Valley walk for a few years. When the family moved to Pleasanton, they switched to the East Bay walk that was then held at Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek.
An extreme lack of parking and the hassle of South Bay friends and family driving all the way to Walnut Creek prompted Pauline to come up with her ingenious idea of hosting a walk near their Pleasanton home.
“We do several laps at Moller Park,” she said, referring to a nearby neighborhood park. “Everybody can go at different speeds, and we don’t get separated from each other. We have people in our 70s who can walk at their own pace or rest on the benches. We have little guys who we can let walk at their own pace. It’s perfect. I love it.”
Pauline admitted that with the move to a neighborhood walk, “I was worried we wouldn’t raise as much, but we do,” she said. “We raise the same amount every year. People still take it seriously.”
Across town, the Cain family came up with the same idea, but for a slightly different reason. The Cains enjoy the Walk to Cure Diabetes, but they also wanted to support the Diabetic Youth Foundation’s camp program that means so much to their son, Jordan, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 8 in 2003.
Jordan Cain
“My primary motivator was that for three years in a row, we’d get up at the crack of dawn and haul a bunch of food out (to the walk site) and stake out a spot,” mom Jan Cain said. “As I’m doing this and all of my other friends are driving there and I’m passing my neighborhood park, I thought, ‘This is silly.’”
Jan uses good old-fashioned snail mail to spread the word about the family’s neighborhood walk. She explains the missions of both Breakthrough T1D and DYF, then gives friends and family the option of which one to support.“Some pick one, some do the other and many do both,” Jan said. “Most people do Breakthrough T1D because it has a bigger name.”
The neighborhood and park walk has become an annual tradition for the Cains, whose family includes twin sister Emily, dad Gary and older sister Stephanie. Jan makes her famous breakfast burritos for the 30 to 40 walkers who show up each and every year.
“We do a one-mile loop around the neighborhood, and I have the burritos ready to go,” Jan said. “The kids come back and play in the park. A lot of people send money and never show up at the walk. We always have a big envelope that day. The day of, we have the food thing down. It’s simple. It’s an easy thing to do. It’s a few hours of work.”
Jan enjoys the personal touch of having a family walk right in her own neighborhood and on a weekend that’s convenient for her family.
“One of the reasons I kept doing this year after year after year is it lets Jordan know we really care,” she said. “It can feel like it’s just him against the world. It’s a very solo problem. (The walk) is that one day of the whole year when we have this outpouring of support for him. He appreciates that people are giving money to these organizations that are benefitting not just him personally, but everyone with diabetes.”
The family had a finale walk this past year since Jordan and his twin sister are heading off the college in the fall. The Cains will continue to support Breakthrough T1D, but in a different format that Jan has yet to determine.
As for the Thomas family, they’ll keep doing their mini-walks until there’s a cure.
“I want to feel like I’m doing something to help them find a cure for Noah and all the kids,” Pauline said. “My family and friends feel like they’re doing something. They take a day out of their busy lives, they donate and they come and walk. They feel like they’re doing something to find a cure for Noah.”
“I’ll continue until Noah wants to stop,” she continued “Noah is becoming more aware and he sees different charities, but he always comes back to (JDRF). In his heart, he just really wants a cure.”
