This year, National Diabetes Awareness Month is an especially important time to me as it’s the first one that I’m celebrating as an employee of the College Diabetes Network. I’m commemorating the occasion by celebrating College Diabetes Week (which begins today and runs through November 14, World Diabetes Day) with all of our Chapters and by fundraising for CDN. Let me explain (as concisely as I can) why your support matters and how CDN makes me “feel 100”.

I’m a former CDN Chapter leader, past volunteer, and now a current employee. CDN has obviously shaped my career, but it has also had a tremendous impact on my physical and mental well-being as a person with type 1 diabetes.

Without CDN, I never would have realized the power of peer support in managing a chronic illness that is as demanding as T1D. I would have severely struggled to find the confidence and independence in my adulthood that is necessary in order to live and thrive with T1D. I would not be the diabetes advocate that I am today, I definitely would not have a successful blog about T1D, and I never would have made so many incredible friendships and connections that CDN helped make possible.

Those are just some of the ways that CDN helps me “feel 100” about life with diabetes. “Feeling 100” is a colloquial term that describes feeling your absolute best and at your optimal level of happiness. That’s why it was chosen as the overarching theme of College Diabetes Week this year – we all want to feel 100, especially when managing the many challenges that comes with living with T1D while in college.

CDN has given me so much. Please consider helping me give back to CDN. Help me raise $100 (or more) and that money will go towards CDN Chapter stipends for the year, outreach kits, the ability for us to provide grants and sponsor Chapter activities, and so much more. We appreciate your support as we continue to empower and make positive changes in the lives of young adults with diabetes across the country.