Welcome to Day One of the Fifth Annual Diabetes Blog Week. I’m thrilled to see so many past participants signing up again. And I’m equally excited that so many new blogs are joining in for the first time. Welcome everyone!! If you are still interested in signing up it is definitely not too late. You can find all of the information you need over here.Today’s topic is Change the World. Let’s kick off Diabetes Blog Week by talking about the diabetes causes and issues that really get us fired up. Are you passionate about 504 plans and school safety? Do diabetes misconceptions irk you? Do you fight for CGM coverage for Medicare patients, SDP funding, or test strip accuracy? Do you work hard at creating diabetes connections and bringing support? Whether or not you “formally” advocate for any cause, share the issues that are important to you. (Thanks go out to Kim of Texting my Pancreas for inspiring this topic.)
I came to the DOC looking simply for others who understood what it is like to live with diabetes, and I found just what I was looking for. But it turns out I also found so much more than I could ever imagine. I found a passionate group of people working to improve just about every aspect of life with diabetes. Emotional support, research funding, technological advances, access to medication for everyone in the world, safe and accurate devices, diabetes education . . . . the list goes on and on. And I have to say, I’m on board with just about every initiative out there. I’m proud to jump in and support these causes as much as I can (even if it often feels like I’m not doing enough.).
So which ones are closest to my heart? Where do I focus most of my energy? Well, connections and peer support still tops my list. Our old local T1 dinner group (originally created by Kerri) has joined forces with the Fairfield County JDRF Adults with T1 committee and we volunteer to help with planning there. It’s been great because we reach more people and have a better mix of events, with speakers sometimes instead of just dinners. And although I’ve never considered myself much of a fundraiser, I love serving as the Advocacy Team Chair for the New Haven JDRF chapter. I may suck at asking friends and family to donate to diabetes causes, but I have no problem lobbying to our political representative for the funding!
Of course, I’m also behind so many grassroots advocacy efforts because there are tons of fantastic people working on a lot of fantastic causes. And it’s easy to get caught up in feeling like I’m not doing enough. But perhaps it’s important to remember that if we each just do something, no matter how big or how small it may seem, together we can change the world.
What is Diabetes Blog Week? Click here for an explanation and to sign up. You can also check out a list of participants over here.
Karen, thank you so much for, yet again, organizing DBlog Week! It's only the morning of the first day and I can already feel my advocacy juices flowing again. Thanks for making it possible for all of us to connect in this way.
ReplyDeleteYou are an amazing person. I hope that doesn't sound so extreme that it seems insincere. You really do amaze me.
ReplyDeleteYou do so much and seem so mellow the whole time.
I completely agree with the fundraising- I'm so dreadful I'm continually offering friends and familys money back after they donate!!
ReplyDeleteKaren, thank you so much for organizing DBlog week and all your efforts on the grass root front. While I love the work that JDRF and ADA (or for me, CDA) do, I think the real, every day power is in the little grass roots groups (that are usually backed by said organizations). Those are the groups that meet every day/week/month. It's how we meet and interact outside of the great charity events. It's a wonderful thing to be passionate about, and something I'm very passionate about as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great start to the week!
Karen, I am so inspired by reading your story. I'm thrilled that you share how your advocacy has evolved, and I'm proud to call you my friend.
ReplyDeleteKaren, every time I've managed to pull off enough posts for D-Blog Week, it's been an amazing feeling to participate, and I am so very glad you started this. :)
ReplyDeleteAt work there's a massive poster on the wall that says "Alone, we are but a drop. Together, we are an ocean." As an ocean, we can create waves of change, and if you're not riding the wave of change, you'll find yourself beneath it. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThank gosh I'm not the only one who doesn't like to ask friends and family for money for diabetes causes...now I don't feel so bad when I fundraise poorly at JDRF walks. You've written a lovely post that shows as all that we can make changes in our own ways, not matter how big or small the cause is.
ReplyDeleteHere Here! Thanks Karen
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