Page 21 - Robeson Living Fall 2017

Friends Gather Donations Diabetes Emergency

Submitted by Amy Evans

When we saw the devastation in Texas, we knew we had to Relief Coalition
do something to help. We started by asking on social me- Submitted by William T. Cefalu, MD
dia for help with donations. After a day or so, the donations Chief Scientific, Medical & Mission Officer
were much more than we expected. Between Shelly Hope,
Terra Rhyne, and several others that spread the word, we Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by Hurricane Har-
knew we were on the path to get tons. I got approval from vey and Hurricane Irma. Many in the diabetes community
my employer, T-mobile, that we could be a drop-off site. have contacted us and asked about our efforts and how to
The outpouring of support was amazing. Every day do- help.
nations were being dropped off at either T-mobile or our
home. I knew When either of the two pulled up they had a Current Relief Efforts
car full of items. It’s been a blessing to see how our com- Supplies
munity has come together yet again to help others in need. Convened by the American Diabetes Association, a partner-
I couldn’t do it without the help of my friends, customers ship of seven leading diabetes care and research organiza-
and family. Also, a special thanks to Daniel Walters DDS tions have formed the Diabetes Emergency Relief Coalition
for donating over 500 toothbrushes and toothpaste. We to help provide critical diabetes supplies and support to re-
will be taking all donations to Florence SC on and they gions impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The Coali-
will be delivered to Texas. tion includes us, JDRF, Insulin for Life USA, the Endocrine
Society, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinolo-
gists, the American Association of Diabetes Educators and
Research America. Together, we have shipped more than
4,000 pounds of free diabetes supplies to Houston and its
surrounding towns, and the San Antonio and Austin commu-
nities. Our efforts in southeast Texas will continue, and we
are preparing to support people in Puerto Rico and Florida.
More information about the Coalition’s efforts is available
here.

The Latest Resources & Information
• Our Center for Information, 1-800-DIABETES has ex-
tended phone hours daily including the weekend.
• And, we have activated a new call center for physicians
and health care providers to request diabetes supplies.
Shelly Hope along with Amy Evans
We have also launched a special online resource page, di-
abetes.org/hurricanerelief, which is updated regularly. The
site already includes the latest shelter locations; information
for people with diabetes and caregivers; information for
emergency responders and relief personnel; how to donate
unexpired and unopened diabetes supplies; and federal and
state assistance resources.

How You Can Help
• Donate Diabetes Supplies. Do you have extra, unexpired
and unopened insulin pens, vials and cartridges, A1C Test
Kit, KetoSticks, test strips or Glucagon? Click here for de-
tails on how to donate them.
• Make a Gift. Our national team, as well as our local staff
living in Texas, Louisiana and Florida, Georgia and South
Carolina, will continue to work on efforts like this for as
long as necessary, and your donation will support our hur-
ricane relief efforts and the support that we are providing
to assist all people impacted by diabetes in these hard-hit
states.
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