Event Alert
Thursday 15 Oct 5pm
Mrs Macquaries Point
Walk to Cure Diabetes
JDRF: Level 4, 80-84 Chandos Street, St Leonards NSW 2065 Tel 02 9966 0400 Fax 02 9966 0172 WWW www.jdrf.org.au
Walking to Celebrate Hope and Progress
You are invited to join 2,000 people in Sydney, including NSW Minister for Science and Medical Research
Jodi McKay MP, Fuzzy from Video Hits, and 60,000 others around Australia, to celebrate hope and
progress towards a cure for type 1 diabetes at the Walk to Cure Diabetes.
The Walk to Cure Diabetes is an annual event held by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
Gathering at more than 20 different locations around Australia, Walkers aim to raise over $2 million for
critical medical research to find a cure for type 1 diabetes.
JDRF CEO Mike Wilson said, “The funds raised by the Walk to Cure Diabetes will deliver essential support
for Australian research into type 1 diabetes – because we need to find that cure fast.”
“The situation is urgent because Australia has one of the highest rates of type 1 diabetes in the world.”
“JDRF supports more than 60 research projects in this country, which represents over 200 researchers.
These dedicated scientists have recently broken new ground. Right now, there are more therapies in
human clinical trials than ever before.”
Walk to Cure Diabetes
Thursday 15 October 2009 – Start time: 5 pm
Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquaries Point, Sydney
Join NSW Minister for Science and Medical Research Jodi McKay MP, as well as Fuzzy from Video
Hits and around 2,000 supporters young and old for a 5 km Walk to Cure Diabetes!
You can show your support by sponsoring a Walk to Cure Diabetes team. Visit www.jdrf.org.au/walk or call
1300 363 126 for more information.
To arrange an interview or photograph with a local family with type 1 diabetes, or for more information
about the disease, please contact
Lyndal Howison on 02 9966 0400 or 0411 110 717 or lhowison@jdrf.org.au
Type 1 Diabetes – The Facts
There are 140,000 Australians with type 1 diabetes and with five new cases every day, Australia has one of the highest rates in the world. The number of Australian
children being diagnosed with this disease is increasing by 3% every year. Typically striking young people, type 1 diabetes destroys the ability to produce insulin, which is
vital for life. It requires an essential daily regime of multiple injections or continuous infusion of insulin through a pump, as well as 6 – 8 finger-prick blood tests. Type 1
diabetes is associated with a significantly increased risk of serious health complications such as blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and amputation..
An autoimmune disease, type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by a complex mixture of genetic and environmental factors but not by an unhealthy diet or obesity. The
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is the world’s largest not-for-profit supporter of diabetes research and has invested over $1.6 billion since inception in 1970. The
mission of JDRF is constant: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.
NEWS 
