Corporate Toronto rides hard for diabetes research
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More than 5,000 people, made up of employees from some of Canada’s top corporations, put their pedal to the metal today in support of the 2005 Ride for Diabetes Research held at Nathan Phillips Square to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
In its 17th year, the Ride for Diabetes Research is a unique fundraising event where each of five members of a corporate team rides a stationary bike in eight-minute intervals within an hour. Last year, the Ride for Diabetes Research raised nearly $1.2 million. This year, Ride participants are on track to surpass that figure and raise $1.4 million.
A “Battle of the Banks” will take place at noon with executive teams from each of the financial institutions competing against one another to clock the most kilometres and raise the most funds. This year’s results will be announced once all pledges are in and the cup will be awarded to the winner.
As always, the majority of companies participating come from the financial and legal sectors and all want to help in the fight against a disease that strikes children. Key participating companies include TSX Group, Aird & Berlis LLP, TD Bank Financial Group, RBC Financial Group and Scotiabank. Several have been contributors to the Ride since its inception, with employee teams raising from $500 to $20,000.
“The Ride for Diabetes Research is a high-impact, energetic event that brings people together to make a difference,” says Matt Varey, head of Career Sales Force, RBC Financial Group. “Participants get so excited and pumped up for this event and a little friendly rivalry between the teams never hurts, especially when raising money for such an important cause like Juvenile Diabetes.”
The funds raised go toward JDRF’s world-renowned research program, which has produced major scientific breakthroughs in the search for a cure for juvenile (type 1) diabetes, including islet cell transplantation and stem cell research.
“We need to fuel the momentum of diabetes research which has led us so close to finding a cure for this disease,” says Ron Forbes, President and CEO of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. “JDRF depends on the generous support of the riders and corporate sponsors to help us get to the next crucial stage of research.”
Juvenile diabetes is the most severe form of diabetes, which mainly strikes infants, children, and young adults, leaving them dependant on daily insulin injections. It is a disease that one does not outgrow and those living with diabetes are faced with serious complications, including blindness, nerve damage, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and limb amputation.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is the leading non-profit, non-governmental funder and advocate of diabetes research in Canada and the world. JDRF’s mission is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. In 2005, JDRF Canada will give over $10 million to diabetes research. Since its inception in 1974, JDRF has provided more than $1 billion in direct funding to diabetes research worldwide.
For more information on JDRF and the Ride for Diabetes Research, call 905-944-8700 or visit the website at http://www.jdrf.ca.
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