Case Study: Ford and Type 1 Diabetes

Each year, as many as 30,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D), both children and adults. Important advancements have been made in diabetes research, yet scientists are still working toward finding possible causes and cures for this autoimmune disease.

People living with T1D must take insulin either through injections or a pump, and test their blood sugar levels multiple times every day. While insulin is needed to help manage T1D, it does not protect against its devastating complications, such as kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, amputations, heart attack and stroke.

For nearly three decades, Ford has been involved in helping to improve the lives of all people affected by T1D through our support of JDRF, the leading global organization focused on T1D research. JDRF aims to accelerate progress on the most promising opportunities for curing, better treating and preventing T1D. In 1983, Ford hosted a JDRF fundraising walk in Dearborn. In 1998, the grassroots employee initiative now known as the Ford Global Walk Team began, with Edsel B. Ford II as the corporate team chair. The event has grown dramatically over the last decade. Since 2002, Ford Motor Company has been JDRF’s largest corporate – and only international – sponsor.

Ford volunteers donate significant time to leverage the Company’s financial support of JDRF, participating in walks and holding book sales, silent auctions and raffles to raise money for T1D research. Together with support from the UAW and national partner companies Mazda, BP and WPP, our volunteers raised more than $3.2 million in 2011, bringing the total amount raised by Ford volunteers to $39 million since 1998.

Ford is proud to have been presented with the JDRF President’s Award for nine consecutive years, earning recognition as the Top Corporate Sponsor in the world. In 2011, Ford was presented the Pillar Award, recognizing Ford as a 10-year-plus partner, successfully raising awareness and funds for JDRF research.

Driven by passionate, grassroots volunteers connected to children, adolescents and adults with T1D, JDRF is now the largest charitable supporter of T1D research. Since its founding in 1970, JDRF has awarded more than $1.6 billion to diabetes research. Past JDRF efforts have helped to significantly advance the care of people with this disease, and have expanded the critical scientific understanding of T1D. JDRF will not rest until T1D is fully conquered. More than 80 percent of JDRF’s expenditures directly support research and research-related education.