Last Sunday morning, some 90 members of the community gathered to participate in the JDRF One Walk at Sturt Park, walking for a world without type 1 diabetes and raising more than $7500 along the way.
It was the first time the national campaign and flagship fundraising event has held an event in Broken Hill.
JDRF Community Fundraising Manager SA, NT, and West NSW, Lauren Hoysted, told the Truth the response to the event was incredible to see.
“Introducing our biggest and newest event to Broken Hill this year, we recognised that the community in the regions do need that support, giving them the opportunity to come together and support each other and raise some much-needed funds for type one research,” she said.
“On the day, the smiles, and the conversations, it was great to hear everybody’s experiences. It was a wonderful day. We’re looking to keep that momentum going and keep that community growing and the awareness within Broken Hill and surrounding regions.”
Danielle Keenan, the Walk Host whose daughter Augie was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a six-year-old in 2019, was pleasantly surprised by the turnout. She highlighted the importance of community support for the cause.
“It can be invisible, but also very visible. It impacts your life, especially as a young child. Augie says all the time that she wishes there was a cure because we really don’t like the disease at all,” Ms Keenan said.
“Within the community, since she has been diagnosed, we’ve had multiple people around us be diagnosed and reach out for support. We’re constantly communicating and telling our story; raising awareness about what it means in terms of the impact daily for people that live with type 1 – it’s not a lifestyle choice, there’s no control of it all over it. All you can do is really try and take care of yourself.”
“The technology that’s now available means that we can do that successfully. And that’s because of the efforts of fundraising for things like JDRF where those funds go towards research and technology to help better the day-to-day of living with chronic disease.”
