Wednesday, November 11, 2009

JDRF Foundation



The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF) is the leading charitable funder and advocate of juvenile (type 1) diabetes research worldwide. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.

Type 1 diabetes is a disease which strikes children suddenly and requires multiple injections of insulin daily or a continuous infusion of insulin through a pump just to survive. Insulin, however, is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating complications which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and amputation.



JDRF was founded in 1970 by the parents of children with type 1 diabetes. As a result, JDRF volunteers have a personal connection to type 1 diabetes, which translates into an unrelenting commitment to finding a cure. These volunteers are the driving force behind more than 100 locations worldwide that raise money and advocate for government spending for type 1 diabetes research. JDRF has 116 chapters and affiliates worldwide, whose volunteers have helped to raise more than $410 million for diabetes reasearch.



JDRF funding and leadership is associated with most major scientific breakthroughs in type 1 research to date, such as islet transplantation. In fact, JDRF funds a major portion of all type 1 diabetes research worldwide, more than any other charity. JDRF provided $100 million to diabetes research in FY 2002, and is responsible for more than $600 million in direct funding since it was founded. Because of its focus on a cure, JDRF funds research with the greatest impact throughout the world, leading to results as soon as possible.



JDRF is driven by results and successes in three major cure goals: restoring normal blood sugar, preventing and reversing diabetes-related complications, and preventing diabetes. Working toward these goals, JDRF has taken the lead in nurturing human clinical trials in such critical areas as the development of transplant tolerance and alternative sources of insulin-producing cells for transplant.



JDRF is structured on a business-world model that efficiently and effectively directs resources to research aimed at finding a cure as soon as possible. In a typical year, more than 80 percent of JDRF’s expenditures directly support research and research-related education. Because of its unwavering focus on its mission to find a cure, for the fifth year in a row JDRF has received an “A” rating from the American Institute of Philanthropy, the only such rating for any international diabetes organization. JDRF also received top rankings from other independent sources that rate charitable giving, including Forbes magazine, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Wall Street Journal’s SmartMoney magazine, and Charity Navigator.



For more information visit their website @ www.jdrf.org



Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF)
120 Wall Street
New York, New York 10005-4001
800-533-CURE (2873)
E-mail: info@jdrf.org