Congrats and Welcome!

 

CC09 Delegates and Parents,

Congratulations on being selected to JDRF's Children's Congress 2009! This will be the sixth Children's Congress in the program’s 10 year history and probably the toughest to have been selected to considering the nearly 1,500 applicants.

I am proud to have you represent JDRF before Congressional leaders and put a human face on the importance of helping us find a cure for type 1 diabetes. Over the past ten years, hundreds of delegates and parents have marched to Capitol Hill carrying the JDRF message of finding a cure and I can with certainty say that your efforts do have an impact. Many times, Members of Congress have recalled a visit with a Children’s Congress Delegate on the floors of the House and Senate when making a point about the need to continue research funding for diseases like type 1 diabetes. It was the impact of the 2007 delegates, along with the support of thousands of other JDRF advocates across the nation, which helped make certain that Congress approved the extension of the Special Diabetes Program as part of a Medicare bill during the winter of 2007 and again in the summer of 2008.

What I want you to understand is that your selection to Children’s Congress is momentous, it means that you are representing thousands of families from your state that are affected by type 1 diabetes and it’s your voice that will carry theirs through the halls of Congress. Once again, congratulations for this special honor you have achieved and I encourage you to work hard as we prepare to convene the sixth Children’s Congress!

Sincerely,

Larry Soler, Vice President, Government Relations
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation