….who is Mary Podjasek.

She will tell you about her fabulous Board of Directors and she will tell you all of the help she gets but the simple truth is that when the Diabetes Scholars Foundation began,  someone had to be at the helm from the start to make it work…..that person is Mary Podjasek.

You can read below what the foundation is all about; but when no one was around at the start to hear her, no one was around to see her tear of frustration, no one  jumped in with donations—Mary kept at it.  There has never been anything like what Mary has orchestrated……ever.

There have been scholarships given over the years but not to the limit this organization has given to incoming college freshmen and to those who need assistance in attending the diabetes conferences around the country.

From their website:
LIFE WITHOUT DIABETES! Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Until that day is upon us, we need to give our children and families the tools they need to manage their diabetes. That’s why in 2004, a group of parents who have children with Type 1 diabetes created the Diabetes Scholars Foundation (DSF).  Our goal was to empower success through education for people living with Type 1 diabetes.

A cornerstone endeavor of DSF is its student scholarship program. Ours is the only foundation that funds college scholarships for which only students in the United States with Type 1 Diabetes are eligible. Our founders’ goal was that – in this one small area of life – diabetes could be an advantage. Since 2008, the Foundation has awarded over $700,000 in college scholarships to kids with Type 1, through scholarships of $5,000 each.

In addition, the Diabetes Scholars Foundation awards scholarships for families to attend diabetes education conferences. To date, we have awarded over 400 scholarships to families who would otherwise be unable to attend because of financial reasons. The impact a conference has on these families is both immediate and significant.  Comments from past recipients have been “this was life changing” and “we feel like we are part of a new family”.

Our vision for the future is to focus on providing our children and families opportunities to acquire information that will assist them in living with diabetes. We, at the Diabetes Scholars Foundation, believe the best way for that to happen is through education. We plan on achieving this by increasing our young adult conference scholarship participants and expand our college scholarship program to include internships.

Empowerment through Education!

And through it all the answer has been……….Mary Podjasek

This month, I will be highlighting someone in the diabetes community.  They may be people you know, or might not know, but they give of themselves to make this world, our world, with diabetes a special place.   I will not get to everyone this month, but it is my hope that perhaps you can be introduced to some of those you may not know.

I am not the definitive on who should be included….you are.  If you think I should include someone, shoot me an email at tkarlya@drif.org and I will do what I can to include that person as well.  Welcome to diabetes awareness month.

I am a diabetes dad.

Please visit my Diabetes Dad FB Page and hit ‘like’.