T1D Walk new name for diabetes fundraiser

By Lethbridge Herald on June 12, 2025.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

Throughout the month of June, close to 50 communities will be gathering across Canada to raise funds for type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, including Lethbridge once again for the first time since 2019, by taking part in the Breakthrough T1D Walk, formerly known as the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. 

Dori Gibbon, senior development officer with Breakthrough T1D, says the T1D walk is the largest fundraising event in Canada and the walk in Lethbridge will take place at Nicholas Sheran Park at the picnic shelter on June 21. 

“Check in and registration starts at 9 a.m., the walk itself starts at 11 a.m. and we do ask everyone to try and register online if they are planning to attend, because we do feed you lunch and we need to know how much food to order,” says Gibbon. 

She adds that the goal for the walk was to raise $10,000 since the walk has not taken place in Lethbridge since 2019, but Lethbridge has already surpassed it. 

Gibbon explains that T1D is an autoimmune disease where the pancreas makes little to no insulin. This leads to dependence on insulin therapy and the risk of short and long-term complications, which can include highs and lows in blood glucose levels, damage to the kidneys, eyes, nerves, and heart, and even death.

“Globally, it impacts nearly 9 million people, and an estimated 300,000 in Canada. Many believe T1D is only diagnosed in childhood and adolescence, but diagnosis in adulthood is common and accounts for over 70 per cent of all T1D diagnoses nationally,” says Gibbon. 

Canada has one of the highest rates of diagnosis in the world, and it’s unknown why. The onset of T1D has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. While its causes are not yet entirely understood, researchers believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved. Gibbon adds that there is currently no cure for T1D, but there is insulin to treat it. There is currently no medication or therapy that can improve disease outcomes for people with T1D and they must administer insulin daily just to stay alive.

“Because we don’t know what triggers your autoimmune system to attack those insulin producing cells, it can happen at any age. For myself, I was diagnosed at age 14, but I recently met a woman that was diagnosed at age 55 and I have met people that have a 10-month-ol baby that was diagnosed,” says Gibbon. 

When talking about the T1D walk, Gibbon says it is the only event of its kind that brings together the T1D community, and the Walk has raised more than $143 million to date in its over 30-year history, making it one of the longest running and most successful fundraising events in the country.

“The first walk was held in 1994 in Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa and they raised $100,000 and since that year the walk has expanded to hundreds of communities across Canada,” says Gibbon. 

Money raised through the T1D Walk has helped Breakthrough T1D invest in ground-breaking research, such as stem cell-based treatments that can restore insulin production in those living with the disease.

“Research works, and Canada is home to some of the most renowned T1D researchers in the world. The transformational breakthroughs Breakthrough T1D has helped fund, including diagnostics, medications and devices, are now helping people with T1D live longer, healthier lives,” says Gibbon. 

Since the discovery of insulin, Canada has remained at the forefront of T1D research and in the last 50 years of progress, 25 years have been added to the lifespan of a person receiving the latest care in Canada. 

“But we cannot stop until there are cures and a world free from type 1 diabetes. And as the leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization, Breakthrough T1D helps to make every day better for those living with the disease while driving toward cures,” says Gibbon. 

To register for the T1D Walk, visit https://breakthrought1d.ca/walk