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Good cause all bottled up in new fundraiser
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share thisA water bottle with a painting of Saint Mother Pauline on its label graced the front page of The News-Item Tuesday. Pauline serves as the patron saint of diabetics. Fitting, then, that the water bottles are being sold in an effort to raise money for The Children with Diabetes Fund.
Co-sponsored by The Saint Mother Pauline Visintainer Center and Tulpehocken Spring Water Co. in Northumberland, organizers hope money raised by the bottled water sale will send diabetic children to camp. There, those suffering from juvenile (or Type 1) diabetes will learn to live with the disease, all the while making friends they can identify with.
In juvenile diabetics, the body mistakenly attacks and destroys cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, a natural hormone crucial in converting blood sugar to energy.
Type 1 diabetes is different from Type 2 diabetes in that it's much more difficult to treat. Type 2 patients can use diet and exercise to help regulate blood sugar levels. To stay alive, Type 1 patients must rigorously inject insulin, or wear a pump that infuses it.
About 3 million Americans have Type 1 diabetes. Being a relatively common ailment, though, doesn't make having the chronic illness any less difficult to deal with. Kids taking in such a life-changing diagnosis need the support of others, and camp can provide just that.
It's no coincidence that, in addition to the article about the bottled water fundraiser, Tuesday's edition of The News-Item also included a report about a Type 1 diabetes vaccine, in the testing stages at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. If successful, the vaccine would cure only patients newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
For now, though, the disease remains a lifelong illness for those affected, which makes fundraisers, like this one, all the more important.
Water bottles will be available at the Feast Day of St. Pauline festival scheduled for July 11 at the center and Holy Angels' church picnic July 31 and Aug. 1. After the picnic, water bottles can be purchased for $1 each or $7 a case at the center, or by calling 373-3350. All proceeds benefit The Children with Diabetes Fund.
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