JDRF Leadership
Hello fellow JDRF Supporters,
It’s been an incredible time since I last touched base with all my JDRF friends. I’ve been just about around the world, getting to share my music with millions of people. How cool is that?
Even though I’ve been on the road, you folks and the great work you are doing for the Promise to Remember Me Campaign have never been far from my mind. One of my favorite songs to perform is called “Free.” I love it not just because it’s a beautiful melody, but because the lyrics make me think of all you, and all we have done as a team and how we won’t give up until we’ve reached our goal: a cure for diabetes. Listen to the chorus:
You'll be free
Nothing's impossible
Free (alright, alright)
You've achieved the unexplainable
Free
I believe that miracles
Happen to those
Who refuse to be told
They can happen when we least expect
So we let ourselves be free.
When Tom, Lorraine and I decided to set out goal for this Promise campaign at 400 meetings, a lot of people thought that might just be impossible. But we didn’t because we knew that you – our teammates in the battle for a cure – can and will achieve the seemingly impossible, the unexplainable, so that we can move toward the miracle of a cure.
And you are doing it. As of this week, we’ve completed 321 meetings. That means 60 percent of Congress have met with you face to face, heard your stories and yes, promised to remember us all when it comes to supporting whatever we need on Capitol Hill for a cure. And you keep pushing and working toward our goal.
I know you know that nothing is impossible. I know you understand that, one day, we will achieve a mighty goal and we will all be free of diabetes.
Keep up the good work and know that every time I open a set, every time I sing a song and every day I work at living with diabetes, I remember you, the people who are truly working toward a world free of diabetes. Pull out your Elliot Yamin CD and play this song for inspiration. Or go to YouTube and download it to your IPod to play on the way to your next Promise Meeting. And know that, each and every day, I am thankful you are part of the Promise to Remember Me Campaign.
Best,
Elliott Yamin
Congratulations on a great Government Gay! It was an extremely busy weekend, but one we hope you will look back on with fond memories of new friends you made on and off Capitol Hill!
The GR office is still tabulating the meeting confirmations, but the effort everyone displayed trying to set our Promise record was incredibly overwhelming.
Since today is Valentines Day, Tom and I scribbled down a quick poem that we would like to share with all of you on this fun day.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Our Promise goal is in sight,
All because of you.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thank You for All You Do!
Since the beginning of August, JDRF Government Relations Advocates have been scheduling and organizing meetings between families affected by juvenile diabetes and their members of Congress. These meetings have an enormous impact on our legislators. Most importantly, it gives us an opportunity to meet other diabetic children and their parents; and to hear first hand how people cope with this disease day to day.
Although our legislators have busy schedules, and a multitude of important concerns, I believe that these unique meetings with our children create unforgettable impressions.
Impressions made during these crucial meetings have ultimately resulted in support for legislation that will help find a cure. One example would be the FY 2008 Medicare bill, which included 150 million dollars, earmarked for the Special Diabetes Program.
I realize everyone has a hectic and often unpredictable schedule much like the leaders were trying to snap a photo with. However, these meetings ARE making a difference and we applaud your for your continued support. We set an ambitious goal of completing 400 meetings by May 1st, 2008 and I can’t wait to join volunteers from coast to coast to celebrate OUR accomplishment that day.
Thank you for all that you do!
Happy New Year!
With 2007 an incredible Promise success thanks to all your hard work, we are excited to see what kind of success the New Year can and will bring for this vital and exciting campaign.
Let’s review: in 2007 we launched the Promise campaign earlier than we ever have before (and you rose to the occasion; even though it was the lazy days of August, you were far from lazy, racking up the number of meetings right from the start). By early fall we were crossing over the 100 meeting line months before the campaign usually even begins. As the leaves fell, you not only put out the calls for meetings, you came through, and by the time the holidays approached, we were nearing the 200 meeting mark -- more than the entire campaign has been in some past years. You did this with focus and purpose: there is no question that we won the renewal of the Special Diabetes Program thanks in great part to all these meetings.
Now, it’s time to step up for 2008 and the second half of the Promise to Remember Me Campaign. Because like our loved ones who battle diabetes, we can never rest from our mission. The time is ripe now to reach out and make those meetings happen. If you have yet to join in or set up a meeting, start the New Year off doing just that. If you’ve been trying with no success, keep in mind that our legislators are starting a fresh calendar too. You should find when you reach out that, with the winter break behind them, their staff is more willing and able to find a time to make your Promise Visit fit in.
Your legislators will be at home in district until Jan 14. There’s a good chance you can fit a meeting in during this time if you make a request quickly. And if that doesn’t fit, they’ll have another break at home around President’s Day from February 16th-24th, which may sound far away, but really now is the time to book that too. Remember, these meetings are to be with the elected official and is good for them too: what better way for them to start a new year than to meet with kids they help every day?
So we ask you to start this New Year knowing how very much we appreciate your hard work and understand the amazing positive implications it has had on the future of diabetes research. And being who we are – a group completely dedicated to not stopping until we’ve cure diabetes – we ask you to keep on moving as well. Our goal is 400 meetings by campaign’s end this spring. Let’s come in ahead of time and past that goal.
After all, we are the people who will be known for curing diabetes. We don’t back down.
If you have any questions or need help, just contact us. We have a team of key volunteers and staff who can help you with anything you need.
Best,
Tom Glass
Lorraine
Steihle
Greetings JDRF advocates!
We hope all is well and you are finally able to enjoy some well deserved down time over the holidays. Please remember that the congressional recess starts today, December 21st and will run through January 14th.
This week, Congress extended the Special Diabetes Program (SDP) for one year at 150 million dollars. While we were seeking a multi-year renewal and an increase in funding to $200 million each year for the SDP, given today’s budget climate and all the politics surrounding this bill it’s a massive success that we remained in the larger Medicare package at all. Plus, this allows us the opportunity to come back next year and continue to try for our multiyear renewal. Without your 188 completed Promise meetings, continual participation in action alerts and overall dedication to this cause the renewal may never have happened.
Since the bill passed unanimously in the Senate and overwhelmingly in the House we do have a shift in messaging for scheduling Promise meetings. When speaking to schedulers we ask that you request a meeting to thank your representative for their support of the SDP. Please click
here
to see how your House member voted or email Jonathan Stewart at
jstewart@jdrf.org
should you have any questions before making your meeting request.
Thanks again for everything you do and we wish you and your family a very happy holiday season!
Tom and Lorraine
This being the start of National Diabetes Awareness Month, we thought it would be a good time to look back and most of all, look ahead to what we have to do to get to a cure.
To say it’s been an active year on the diabetes front is an understatement. At no time in history has more progress been made and more work been done on behalf of the issue that is so important to all of us: finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes.
Research-wise, we are seeing the results of our hard work. More people than any other time in history are involved in clinical trials in and around diabetes issues. The Artificial Pancreas Project and Continuous Glucose Monitors grab headlines all the time and for good reason: true breakthroughs are coming at a fast pace.
All that came not because of luck or the natural progression of man’s understanding of things. Make no mistake: were it not for the hard work and determination of volunteers like you, we would not be even close to this point.
And while we’d like to take a moment for a much-deserved group pat on the back, we simply cannot. Because not only is our work not close to done, one might say we are at “critical mass” for work needing to be done.
But don’t let that scare you. Because our troops are strong and deep, we all really only need to do one or two actions to keep our pace. This week – make that today – we ask you to pick up your phone, call your legislator and ask to schedule a Promise To Remember Me meeting before the year is out.
It’s easy. Don’t let it scare you. What follows are some “what ifs” for you to consider.
I called and they said my Legislator simply does not have the time. It’s true. With the extended week in Washington, Legislators have less time on their home turf (and they are as upset about it as you are). Your answer is simple: “If you could arrange for the meeting to be with the health staffer but have my Representative stop in for a quick photo, that would be absolutely fine.” A lot can happen in a quick photo op (read the promise site for what happened with the Sen. Kerry photo op for motivation), and in the end, if you get the quick hello and photo and drive home our needs to the staffer, you’ve done a lot to keep us on the road to a cure.
I’m worried about finding other families to come with me. It seems like a lot of work. No longer. Thanks to the Promise site, you can get instant access to dozens of families who are interested in attending a Promise meeting in your area. If you need help with this, the GR staff and lead volunteers stand ready to help you or even do it for you.
JDRF just met with them last spring for Government Day and then in June for Children’s Congress. There is a reason why the Wall Street Journal and New York Times have called us the most effective patient advocacy group on the hill – we don’t let up. While it make seem like we “just met,” with them, each meeting had it’s own unique reason, and things change monthly in Washington and on the diabetes front. With the renewal of the Special Type 1 legislation looming, meetings before year’s end are a must. If your office says they just met with you, simply say, “and we are so thankful. However, this quick meeting is just as necessary.” You can also say the meeting will include constituents who have not met before, if this is the case.
With that, we ask you to take some time right now, pick up your phone and begin the process. We are here to help you, and one say soon, thanks to this action, we will all be known as the people who cured diabetes. Could there be a better way to mark National Diabetes Awareness Month?
Tom Glass, Volunteer Co-Chair, Promise To Remember Me Campaign
Lorraine Stiehl, Volunteer Co-Chair, Promise To Remember Me Campaign
Moira McCarthy Stanford, Volunteer Chair Of Grassroots Outreach
A Campaign Milestone – Thanks to Your Efforts!
Thanks to your great determination and continued hard work, 111 Promise meetings have been scheduled and/or attended! We are well on our way to achieving our goal of 400 meetings!
To say this has been a “wild” fall would be an understatement! Along with all the Promise meetings in the works, we are also working to secure federal funding for diabetes research. The Special Diabetes Program (SDP) currently provides 35% of all federal support for type 1 diabetes! We are working to reauthorize this critically important program for five years. Both the Senate and the House have introduced legislation to renew the SDP (S.1494 and H.R. 2762) at $200 million per year for five years, or $1 billion total.
We wish to reiterate how important the Promise to Remember Me Campaign is to achieving this reauthorization.
By sharing your personal stories with your Members of Congress, you are helping these legislators see the need for the SDP reauthorization. Your visits are truly making a difference! You are helping to create momentum to ensure that our $1 billion type 1 renewal effort is successful!
There is no way to adequately thank you for all the time and effort you are spending to schedule these meetings.
We know that managing diabetes is difficult enough. Combined with your family, professional and volunteer obligations, spearheading Promise in your area is not an easy task.
We hope you are taking advantage of the dedicated and passionate JDRF Government Relations Staff. They are willing to support you as much as possible – i.e. helping you with strategy; sending out email communications to advocates; making phone calls to recruit people to attend meetings; helping with follow-up, etc.
We are proud to be the co-chairs of this very important campaign and we want to make sure you know that we’re here for you.
Here’s to finding a cure!
Elliott, Tom, and Lorraine
Elliott Yamin, International Celebrity Advocate Co-Chair, Promise To Remember Me Campaign
Tom Glass and Lorraine Stiehl, Volunteer Co-Chairs, Promise To Remember Me Campaign