JDRF Southern Central Ohio

Who We Are: JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. The strength of JDRF lies in an exclusive focus and singular influence on the worldwide effort to end T1D. JDRF Southern & Central Ohio serves a 70-county territory covering Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana. A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, JDRF is one of the nation’s most efficient nonprofits, with over 80 cents of every dollar contributed going directly to the organizational mission.

What We Do: JDRF Southern & Central Ohio hosts a variety of community outreach and fundraising events annually to raise money to fund life-changing T1D research. The chapter's signature events in Columbus include the Promise Ball in May; the Columbus JDRF One Walk in the fall; and the Ride to Cure program in May. In Cincinnati, the Cincinnatian of the Year Gala, the JDRF One Walk Kings Island in the summer; the Bourbon and BowTie Bash in November; and the Ride to Cure program.

Why We’re Important: JDRF was founded in 1970 as a grassroots movement by parents of children with T1D. The mission of JDRF is to not only fund research to improve lives of those living with T1D, and to ultimately find a cure, but to also build awareness of the disease. Half of new T1D diagnoses are in adults, and 80% of the overall T1D population is comprised of adults. T1D is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone people need to get energy from food. T1D can strike anyone at any age at any time and has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle.

How We Serve the Community: The annual JDRF Southern & Central Ohio TypeOneNation Summit is a free community education conference which attracts over 1,000 registrants and is the biggest in the nation across all other JDRF chapters. Other community outreach activities occur throughout the year in an effort to help improve outcomes for people living with type 1 diabetes, as well as to educate those who are unaware of the disease of the warning signs and symptoms. The chapter also has a formal Youth Ambassador program, which empowers young people with T1D to raise their voice and share their stories of overcoming the challenges of living with diabetes. Part of the Youth Ambassador initiative is the JDRF Advocacy program.

How You Can Help: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted our event-based fundraising model and reduced our overall fundraising. That said, our commitment to our mission remains steadfast. We’re now deploying strategies to improve our operating efficiency to ensure our mission is met and our communities are served. Volunteers are JDRF’s greatest strength – from the beginning, JDRF has been a volunteer-driven organization. To succeed, we will need greater involvement of volunteers. Volunteers are needed both on a long-term basis, including various event committees and the board, but also for one-day event volunteer needs. To get involved, contact the chapter at socentralohio@jdrf.org.

JDRF Southern & Central Ohio 8035 Hosbrook Road Suite 210 Cincinnati OH 45236 513-793-3223 jdrf.org/socentralohio Facebook: fb.com/JDRFSoCOhio Twitter: @JDRFSoCOhio Instagram: @JDRFSOCentralOhio

Executive Director: Melissa Newman Email: mnewman@jdrf.org

Development Director: Becky Gaible Email: rsusmangaible@jdrf.org

Development Manager: Melanie Schmid Email: mschmid@jdrf.org

Columbus Market Manager: Jessica Boyd Email: jfboyd@jdrf.org

Development Coordinator: Hadley George Email: hgeorge@jdrf.org

Board Leadership: Diane Weidner, Steve O'Bryan, Tim Doney & Marc Blubaugh