If you have been to a Wawa within the past two months, you have most certainly seen the colorful paper Chuck Taylor shoes that are taped all around the checkout counter. And if you get in the slowest line (like I always seem to), then you probably have had the time to read the person’s name written on the shoe. What you may not have read is that those little pieces of paper indicate that someone donated a dollar or more to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) International’s Walk to Cure Diabetes that occurred this past Sunday, October 23rd all over the country. With annual costs of health care for patients with Diabetes Mellitus exceeding $130 billion in the United States alone, it is easy to see that we have a long way to go in finding economical solutions or even a cure for this prevalent disease. Approximately 7% of U.S. adults are believed to suffer from diabetes and 25% of those are unaware of their condition. Several of our patients participated in various walks around the region. My oldest son, Matt, and I supported one of his 4th grade classmates from Starkweather Elementary by walking in the Philadelphia event around the Art Museum and Boathouse Row. Some of the participants had very impressive signs showing how many thousands of dollars that their son or daughter had raised for the Foundation. You could see the pride in all of their faces knowing that they made a difference this year.
So, at the end of next summer when you are standing in line at Wawa with your coffee in hand, please consider using your spare change to put your name on a JDRF shoe. It will be a MUCH better use of your money than that Tootsie Roll sitting next to the register.
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