Juvenile diabetes is a disease which strikes children suddenly, makes them insulin-dependent for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications.  In juvenile diabetes, a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. Juvenile diabetes usually strikes in childhood but lasts a lifetime. People with juvenile diabetes must take multiple injections of insulin daily or continuous infusion of insulin through a pump just to survive.

JDRF, the leading charitable funder and advocate of juvenile (type 1) diabetes research worldwide, was founded in 1970 by the parents of children with juvenile diabetes. Since inception, JDRF has provided more than $800 million in direct funding to diabetes research. More than 80 percent of JDRF's expenditures directly support research and research-related education. JDRF's mission is constant: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.

WHAT IS DIABETES?
Diabetes (medically known as diabetes mellitus) is the name given to disorders in which the body has trouble regulating its blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels.

There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a disorder of the body's immune system—that is, its system for protecting itself from viruses, bacteria or any "foreign" substances.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys certain cells in the pancreas, an organ about the size of a hand that is located behind the lower part of the stomach. These cells — called beta cells — are contained, along with other types of cells, within small islands of endocrine cells called the pancreatic islets. Beta cells normally produce insulin, a hormone that helps the body move the glucose contained in food into cells throughout the body, which use it for energy. But when the beta cells are destroyed, no insulin can be produced, and the glucose stays in the blood instead, where it can cause serious damage to all the organ systems of the body.

For this reason, people with type 1 diabetes must take insulin in order to stay alive. This means undergoing multiple injections daily, or having insulin delivered through an insulin pump, and by pricking their fingers for blood six or more times a day. People with diabetes must also carefully balance their food intake and their exercise to regulate their blood sugar levels, in an attempt to avoid hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemic (high blood sugar) reactions, which can be life threatening.

The warning signs of type 1 diabetes include extreme thirst; frequent urination; drowsiness or lethargy; sugar in urine; sudden vision changes; increased appetite; sudden weight loss; fruity, sweet, or wine-like odor on breath; heavy, labored breathing; stupor; and unconsciousness. Generally, type 1 diabetes is diagnosed in children, teenagers, or young adults. Scientists do not yet know exactly what causes type 1 diabetes, but they believe that autoimmune, genetic, and environmental factors are involved.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
JDRF’s new billion-dollar global campaign, “From Research to Reality: The Campaign to Accelerate the Cure for Diabetes,” is intended to do just that: step up the transformation of research into treatments and interventions that can soon benefit people with type 1 diabetes. Focusing on JDRF’s six cure therapeutic paths, this groundbreaking campaign offers you a rare chance to participate in this decisive process. Your support means helping us pay for the development of innovative therapies. It means funding the research that will culminate in a cure for diabetes. The sense of urgency is clear, yet it comes with the hope that we are nearing our goal. At JDRF “dedicated to finding a cure” is not just a motto—it’s a call to action.  For more information on how you can help JDRF and how you can make donations please click here.

DELTA EPSILON PSI AND JDRF
Our fraternity is not only committed to continuing juvenile diabetes awareness but also to providing to the juvenile diabetes research foundation.  In the past year, our fraternity as a whole donated more than $8000 to the foundation.  Our chapters and colonies host various events during our philanthropy weeks.  Below you will just a glimpse of our involvement in JDRF. 

FOUNDING CHAPTER
Sugar-Free Bowl - This football tournament raises funds for juvenile diabetes research. 

ALPHA  CHAPTER
Sells wrist bands to promote awareness and raise funds for the JDRF.

BETA CHAPTER
Diabetes Awareness Week - The week's events included sugar-free food tasting, blood-sugar testing, a sugar-free bake sale, a sumo wrestling activity, and our 4th Annual Charity Party.

GAMMA CHAPTER Diabetes Awareness Week - The week's events include a walk, charity party, promotional give-always, and blood-sugar testing. This annual event has raised over $5000 for JDRF.

EPSILON COLONY
Diabetes Awareness Week - The week included an informational booth, giveaways and "Pie an OU Celeb" (this is where a person can pay a dollar to pie a star football player or a student leader for JDRF). The week ends with a Charity Party.

ZETA CHAPTER
Sugar-Free Bowl - This charity football tournament raises funds and awareness for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as well as a educational weekend for the community of Waco.
You Got Served - Charity Tennis Tournament to raise funds and awareness regarding Juvenile Diabetes.

THE NEED FOR DONORS
On any given day, more than 6,000 men, women and children are searching the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry for a life-saving donor like you. These patients have leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases that can be treated by a bone marrow or cord blood transplant. For many of these patients, a transplant may be the best and only hope of a cure. We work to provide hope and deliver a cure to all patients in need. With your support, more patients can access the treatment they so desperately need.

FIND A MATCH
The basics For a successful transplant, the tissue type of a bone marrow donor or a cord blood unit needs to match the patient’s as closely as possible. Special testing determines whether a patient and bone marrow donor or cord blood unit are a good match. The closer the match, the better for the patient.

RACE AND ETHINICITY MATTERS
Race and ethnicity matter in tissue matches because tissue types are inherited, patients are more likely to match someone from their own race or ethnicity. Adding more donors and cord blood units from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to the NMDP Registry increases the likelihood that all patients will find the match they need. Your heritage can make all the difference. If you are from one of the following communities, you are urgently needed as a bone marrow donor or cord blood donor:

· Black and African American

· American Indian and Alaska Native

· Asian

· Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander

· Hispanic and Latino

· Multiple race

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Join the bone marrow donor Registry and give hope to patients everywhere. Every day thousands of patients who need a life-saving transplant search for a donor. You could be the one to save a life. Join the Donor Registry.

LIFE. IT'S IN YOU
Join the bone marrow donor Registry and give hope to patients everywhere. When you become a bone marrow donor, you join the global movement of more than 10 million donors who stand ready to give someone a future. Even with millions on the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry, there are many patients waiting and hoping, unable to find a matching donor. You could be the one a patient needs.

DELTA EPSILON PSI AND JDRF
Our fraternity is not only committed to continuing National Marrow Donor Program awareness but also to providing to the national marrow donor program.  In the past year, our fraternity as a registered over 500 individuals to the program.  Our chapters and colonies host various events during our philanthropy weeks.