(Sun Life Ride to Defeat Diabetes for JDRF website)

By Alessia Proietti

Sun Life Ride to Defeat Diabetes for JDRF

Red Deerians can join the ride this October to defeat Type 1 Diabetes

Oct 5, 2023 | 3:00 PM

Red Deerians are raising funds once again this year for type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and there’s still time to register.

The Sun Life’s annual Ride to Defeat Diabetes for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is taking place throughout the month of October, what they call “Ride Month”, in communities across the country.

Participants can raise funds by riding stationary bikes at select in-person events or on their own.

“The ride brings together teams from across corporate Canada to challenge themselves, it builds comradery and people can partake in a friendly competition and work towards the goal of ending type 1 diabetes and that’s what we want to do,” said Tami Anderson, Senior Development Officer for JDRF in Edmonton.

According to JDRF, T1D is a chronic autoimmune condition where insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas are mistakenly destroyed by the body’s immune system. Insulin is the hormone that allows the body to use sugar from carbohydrates in food consumed for energy.

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As there is no cure, people with T1D need to monitor their blood sugar throughout the day and take insulin through multiple daily injections or an insulin pump.

Researchers still don’t know the cause of T1D, they say, as it can occur in people of any age. The more common Type 2 diabetes can be caused by several factors including obesity, ethnic background, family history, and other environmental factors, according to Diabetes Canada.

In Red Deer, 14 participants are already registered to participate for their “Ride Your Way” campaign, with four teams at local Scotiabank and BMO branches, and a goal of raising $5,000.

While an in-person event hasn’t taken place in Red Deer since 2019 prior to the pandemic, local communities can create their own events if they wish.

Anderson says the national goal is to raise $2.3 million, with the current total raised at $860,000.

“It’s one of our largest fundraisers of the year,” she said. “Without the funds, the research can’t continue and completing the projects and putting people in clinical trials; we want to keep that going, we can’t let off the gas.”

The funds, she says, go towards research funded by JDRF like stem cell research projects, screening, clinical trials, prevention and supports for those living with T1D.

According to the non-profit organization Beyond Type 1, roughly one per cent of the Canadian population, or 300,000 people, have type 1 diabetes.

In Alberta, roughly eight per cent of the population, or 403,000 people, live with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, as of 2022 on the Alberta Diabetes Link website.

Anderson says people are fortunate in Alberta to have various resources available in multiple cities, including pediatric diabetes education centres in Calgary and Edmonton.

READ: Diabetes Working Group aiming to improve diabetes care in Alberta

While the funds for the event will be tallied at the end of October, with gift card prizes given to those who raise over $250 until then, people can still donate to the cause until the end of the year.

Red Deerians can register on donate by visiting their website.