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Community Corner

JDRF to Honor Local Family at Its Annual Gala

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Fairfield County will honor two families at its 31st Annual Spring Gala on April 28th at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich. 

The Halas family, who own and operate the Halas Farm Market in Danbury; and the Zuckerberg family, of Westport, have both demonstrated a deep commitment to fundraising and raising awareness in the community about diabetes.

Michael and Laura Halas’ daughter, Madison, 10, was diagnosed with type 1 when she was 2. Each year, Halas Farm Market hosts a Fall Festival, complete with pumpkin painting, hayrides, pies sales, and other activities for children. The proceeds from this festival benefit the Fairfield County Chapter. These events raise nearly $25,000 each year.

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Laura, her husband Michael, son, Michael, 13; and daughter Emma, 8, are honored to be a part of the gala to bring attention to the disease and to support Madison. “Our main focus with Madison is that we don’t want to be treated differently. We don’t want to use [diabetes] as a crutch,” Laura said.

Carl Zuckerberg has served on the Fairfield County Chapter Board since 2005 and has been instrumental in the Chapter’s government relations activities. He was recently honored by the JDRF Government Relations Department for having organized the largest Promise to Remember Me meeting in the country. He also helped to negotiate $750 million in Congressional funding for type 1 diabetes. His wife, Courtnie, created and distributed internationally the T-1 luminaries to raise awareness about type 1 diabetes. Her efforts have prompted more than 38,000 luminaries lit across the country. Their son, Harrison, 10, has type 1.

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Courtnie said that the biggest thing that has helped overall in Harrison’s diagnosis is having the support of his community. “If we all come together, we can affect change and send a message and find cures for these life-changing diseases,” she said. “It’s only through awareness that you can affect change.”

And Carl added, “Anybody can make a difference; you just have to commit to it and decide what’s important to you.”

Proceeds from the gala go toward finding a cure for juvenile diabetes, a disease which affects the lives of more than 21 million children and adults and the families that love them.  To make a donation or to volunteer, call 203-854-0658, or visit www.jdrf.org/fairfieldcounty.

JDRF, the world’s leading charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research, was founded in 1970 by the parents of children with juvenile diabetes – a disease which strikes children suddenly, makes them insulin-dependent for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications. Since inception, JDRF has provided more than $1 billion in direct funding to diabetes research.

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