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Dear Moms, Dads, Grandparents & Guardians: I am writing to invite your family to participate in an exciting and important event. The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation’s first Children’s Congress will be held in Washington, D.C. from Sunday, June 20 to Tuesday, June 22, 1999. It’s a chance to tell your Member of Congress what it’s like to have diabetes, or to have a child with diabetes, and that we want a cure. As Chair of the JDF Children’s Congress, I will be attending with my eight-year-old son, Joey, who has had diabetes since the age of two. As the mother of a child with diabetes, I know there is no voice more powerful than the voice of my son when he asks, “Why do I have to stick my finger to test my blood five times a day? Why do I have to take an insulin shot? Why do I have diabetes, Mom?” No one understands better than Joey that “insulin is not a cure.” We hope the Children’s Congress will provide an opportunity for all our voices to be heard. The JDF Children’s Congress is the first event of its kind, designed to educate Washington leadership about the issues surrounding children who live with diabetes. Our theme, “Promise to remember me,” will be a powerful call to action, asking lawmakers to remember children with diabetes when appropriating funds for medical research. Led by JDF International Chairman Mary Tyler Moore, a select group of children from throughout the country will come to Washington, D.C. to participate in special events created to reach out to Members of Congress and the Administration to advocate for a cure for diabetes and its complications (see Letter of Thanks to those who applied to be delegates). The children will participate in an event on Capitol Hill to enhance Congressional awareness of children with diabetes, attend a luncheon with Members of Congress, and interact with senior Administration officials in a high-profile event. We expect to attract broad-based national and local media interest, which will help to increase public awareness about the disease’s impact on children with diabetes and the urgent need for a cure. We need your help to illustrate the personal impact of diabetes on millions of Americans by bringing real faces and stories of children with diabetes to the attention of Washington lawmakers. Please take a moment to write a letter from your child to your Member of Congress relating his or her story of what it’s like to live with diabetes and why a cure is needed. Family and friends may also write in support of JDF Children’s Congress and the need for increased funding for research to find a cure. Help us make sure all our children’s voices are heard. The more letters we receive, the more impact we will have on increasing funding for diabetes and its complications. All letters should be sent to
Sincerely, Sandra D. Silvestri |
