Stroll with Us (Virtually) in the 2020 JDRF One Walk!

Sloan is proud to once again support the Chicago Lakefront JDRF One Walk on November 1, with both a sponsorship and a walking team.

When the headlines are dominated by one disease, can organizations still generate enthusiasm for fighting another?

Even in this year of COVID-19, the answer is yes. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is as active and as vital as ever in its efforts to help find a cure for Type 1 diabetes—a currently incurable condition that affects people of every race and nationality.

Since diabetes is also a risk factor for COVID-19 patients, the work of the JDRF is especially important. That’s why we’re so excited to support the organization in this year’s Chicago JDRF One Walk—Sunday, November 1.

The stRolling Sloans are Back!

This year, of course, the stRolling Sloans—Sloan’s ace walking team—won’t be able to join with thousands of others in a grand lakefront walk. Due to COVID-19, the Chicago One Walk is all virtual this year. (See below for details.) But that hasn’t stopped our team spirit!

“People are walking and raising money,” says Sloan Director of Experiential Marketing Peggy Gilmore. “We’re in the shop every day signing people up to be virtual walkers. We’ve reached out to employees, rep firms, vendors—everyone and anyone we know. And the response has been very good.

“We’ve raised a significant amount already just through emails and getting the word out, so we’re well on our way to hitting our goal by November 1.”

Does Gilmore miss the comradery of the live walk? “The extrovert in me does. But it’s more personal this year, more of an individual thing. It’s really encouraging that people are still willing to donate and be on the team. And there’s just a positive feeling all around, considering what we’re going through.”

So far, the stRolling Sloans are in 9th place on the Chicago One Walk team leaderboard—but we still have two weeks to go!

Virtual Walk, Real Enthusiasm

With the pandemic making large gatherings impossible this year, JDRF has executed  an elegant pivot in creating a virtual event that captures a lot of the same enthusiasm as their traditional, live event:

• People can walk whenever, wherever and however they want. Teams and individuals are welcome, and there are no limits on distance.
• Miles Toward Mission is gathering walkers from all over the country to walk 1.6 million miles—one for every American living with type 1 diabetes.
• There’s a complete toolkit for teams to get organized, with clear guidelines for goal setting, fundraising and reimagining your walk.
• Dynamic leaderboards track participation locally and nationally, so everyone can see where they stand and be inspired by the leaders’ efforts.

Considering all the challenges of 2020, the JDRF has done an amazing job of building a virtual event with real enthusiasm.

Why the JDRF One Walk Matters

So much attention gets devoted to COVID-19, it’s easy to forget about diseases that are still with us every day. For example, 1.6 million Americans live with type 1 diabetes—a life-threatening disease that puts them at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, kidney damage and pregnancy complications. It also, as noted earlier, is an elevated risk factor for COVID-19 patients.

No one “does” anything to “deserve” type 1 diabetes—it’s something that just happens to people, usually as children, regardless of what shape they’re in or what kind of food they eat. They must regulate their diet and insulin levels every day simply to survive.

That’s why we feel it’s so important to help JDRF and their exciting diabetes research that could one day eradicate type 1 diabetes. Will you join us in supporting the Chicago One Walk to help JDRF achieve their goal?

Please visit the stRolling Sloans' JDRF One Walk page to help fight type 1 diabetes.