An end to only the beginning

My internship with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation came to a close this week on Monday.

Despite this, I was still involved in the office and still attending Tuesday morning's State Committee meeting as a board member.

I feel this internship has provided me the quality time required to further understand the range of JDRF's campaigns and their purpose.
As I had already been involved with JDRF in a small volunteer capacity in 2013, this internship has provided the true insight. I hope this insight will show in my future involvement with the organisation and also prove it's real worth in the events coming up over the next few months.

My confidence has significantly grown throughout the internship as I was able to understand the cause and work in a more autonomous manner towards the end.

Kari & Jack provided me with a lot of support and believed in my strength to be able to take on certain tasks, which definitely helped.

Since I began my internship with JDRF in March, three fundraising campaigns were held which I was able to gain experience in implementing:
The Jump to Cure Diabetes - A sky dive in Bunbury where dare devils raised a minimum of $1250 each to jump out of the plane!

Jelly Baby Month - The month of May every year is Jelly Baby Month, whereby schools, corporates and families participate in selling JDRF jelly babies and merchandise to raise funds and awareness of type 1.

Perth Gala Ball - The annual ball was held on May 17, and final figures saw the total funds raised in excess of $480,000!  This was without a doubt the most interesting, exciting and educating event of all.

Alongside these three campaigns, I also attended KPMG's corporate golf day at Joondalup Resort which raised funds for JDRF. That was a fun day out of the office; tracking down the 16 teams on golf buggies and having them buy raffle tickets. There was also the Young Leadership Committee (YLC) inaugural fundraising event held at the Boulevard at the end of March. Unfortunately this didn't take off as much as we had hoped, but we are already collaborating and getting the next event planned for August which we hope will see a greater result.

Every day at JDRF was packed to the brim of things to do and very rarely was any day the same as the last.

It's been a treat working alongside the two most dedicated hearts of Kari & Jack who make up the entire WA office. To continually plan and execute all these campaigns, events and much more, they have talents which are truly to be commended.

The best part of having completed my internship with JDRF is it has endorsed my life ambition to work in the non profit sector. Although my ideal line of work is in humanitarian aid services and/or medical research JDRF has been the tip of the iceberg for my future endeavours and has slowly tweaked my mind and outlook, getting me closer to where I want to be.

Until next time,

I wish everyone the best wishes in completing their final reports!!

My best always,
Natalie Robb
1428 7318

Jelly babies for diabetes? Isn't that...wrong?!

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is a medical research organisation determined to find a cure for juvenile diabetes.

Now, there is always much confusion about Type 1 (Juvenile) and Type 2 diabetes, but there is a huge difference!

Type 1, commonly referred to as juvenile, diabetes is an auto immune disease whereby the pancreas ceases to produce insulin. Without insulin, the body is unable to break down sugars and convert it into energy. This is when type 1 kids go into a ‘hypo’ or hypoglycaemia state (low blood glucose level) which can lead to shortness of breath, fainting, coma, and in the worst cases, death. During a ‘hypo’ a rush of sugar will help bring the child back to a normal blood sugar level, which is typically when lollies or jam are used to immediately get the sugar into their system.

I’ll touch back on this in a moment!

Type 2 diabetes on the other hand can usually be controlled by eating habits, exercise routines and lifestyle. It is usually diagnosed later in life than type 1 and is typically as a result of a not-so-healthy lifestyle. This is the diabetes many refer to as ‘the fat one’.

JDRF have a campaign called “Jelly Baby Month” which usually runs throughout the month of May. It is a community and school incentive to raise awareness and funds for juvenile diabetes, especially in primary schools when they can learn the difference between type 1 & 2. Jelly Baby Month raises funds through selling fundraising items such as JDRF merchandise (pens, key chains etc.) and – yep, you guessed it – jelly babies!

There has been a multitude of backlash from nutritionists and writers (usually mummy bloggers) displaying outrage and lashing out against the sale of jelly baby lollies to assist in raising funds for juvenile diabetes - 'the very product that causes diabetes' according to some lovely comments.

What these dear writers have unfortunately overlooked is the fact they don't understand the significant difference between the two types of the disease! That, and JDRF Jelly Babies are now made with all natural colours and flavours.

This is a huge part of JDRF’s mission; educating those outside of the type 1 community on how it is not a matter of controlling your exercise and eating habits, but an illness, an auto immune defect in fact, which attacks the insulin enzymes in the body making children very ill and results in them having to monitor their blood sugar levels multiple times a day either through finger pricking or on a monitored pump and usually having to inject themselves with insulin up to six times a day.

The symbol of the Jelly Baby is a part of the pantry for many families living with a child who has type 1. Many mums say the ‘friendly face’ and familiarity of the jelly babies help calm the child when in a hypo state. 

In essence, I would like to extend this piece of knowledge to you all as well, to help you understand the difference between the two.

The JDRF website explains it even further.

And since we’re in Jelly Baby Month why not check out ways you can help fundraise or raise awareness while you’re there!


Natalie Robb 14287318