Kids Walk to Fight Juvenile Diabetes

Nearly 800 Chartiers Valley Primary School students walked a lap around the high school track Monday afternoon to raise awareness and money for juvenile diabetes.

The students snaked around the quarter-mile loop – after walking quite a distance from their school on the other side of Thoms Run Road – and raised more than $3,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. As of Wednesday afternoon, that figure had skyrocketed to $11,000.

Sally Marra, a kindergarten teacher who was a part of the team that organized the fundraiser, said the students learned about diabetes and the problems children with disease face on a daily basis.

“They got the message that these kids have to take so many shots, and they know how it isn’t fun to get shots,” Marra said. “They also learned how important it is to exercise and eat well.”

Marra said the school decided to work on this particular fundraiser because two young students have been diagnosed with diabetes. The majority of the money came from donations from parents and sponsors.

The students made posters to show what it would be like to live in a world without juvenile diabetes. The winner from the school will receive a $50 gift card to Panera Bread and be entered for a chance to win a $500 savings bond.

People can still make donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation until Wednesday. To make donations to Chartiers Valley’s diabetes fund, go to primary school’s page on the Kids Walk to Cure Diabetes website.