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Continue ShoppingRaising Funds and Awareness for Juvenile Diabetes
Even though SparkleSister Laura Gonzalez does not have diabetes, it’s a cause near and dear to her heart, and one she’s been involved with her entire life.
“My father is a pediatric endocrinologist, so at a very young age I learned all about Type 1 diabetes and met young people with it.” According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) website, “Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas are mistakenly destroyed by the body’s immune system. T1D seems to have a genetic component and can be diagnosed early in life but also in adulthood. Its causes are not fully known, and there is currently no cure. People with T1D are dependent on injected or pumped insulin to survive.”
One of Laura’s close friends has lived with and struggled with the disease since she was only 3 years old. “Having experienced a few scares with her blood sugar levels, it's made me even more dedicated to finding a cure.”
Laura grew up involved in the JDRF walkathon each year as part of her father's office team. “I discovered running while in law school so the transition to running with Team JDRF was a no-brainer.” She’s a big RunDisney fan and at one Half Marathon expo, she noticed JDRF’s booth. “I reconnected with the cause and have been running the Disney Marathon Weekend half marathon for JDRF for five years now!”
She happened upon SparkleSkirts in much of the same way—with the RunDisney Princess weekend about six years ago. “I was immediately enamored with the quality and super cute styles. I never knew you could run in a skirt!” By her second Disney race, Laura was running in a SparkleSkirt and has run almost every RunDisney race (and she’s done plenty) in one. “The versatile pockets have cut down on the amount of gear I have to schlep on runs, which makes me run lighter and less inhibited. I love the shorts underneath, and they are my best defense against the dreaded runner's chaffing. Plus, they're cute and it makes me feel better to go on a run looking put together.”
If you’d like your chance to win one of those amazing skirts, Laura is conducting a fundraiser to benefit JDRF. For every $5 donation increment now through November 30th, you’ll receive one entry to win a $50 SparkleSkirts gift card, so a $20 donation gets 4 entries, a $50 one gets 10, and so on. All you need to do is visit Laura’s personal participant page link for Team JDRF http://www2.jdrf.org/goto/LGonzalez2018 and be sure to put SparkleSkirts raffle in the comments. Let’s help her reach her goal of $2,000 (she’s already 25% of the way there!)—and who knows; if enough of you lovely supportive SparkleSisters donate, Laura could reach her dream fundraising goal of $5,000.
