Approximately 300,000 Canadians live with type 1 diabetes (T1D), an autoimmune disease that destroys the cells in the pancreas responsible for making insulin. The discovery of the insulin hormone over 100 years ago meant the first treatment for the disease, which previously a diagnosis meant certain death. But a century later, it remains the only treatment.
On April 4, 2022 to publicly launch JDRF’s $100M Campaign to Accelerate, five brave Canadians will become Leaders in History, as part of JDRF’s Let’s Make History Again fundraising event.
For 100 hours, they will live atop of a flagpole in their respective cities. The event celebrates the 100th anniversary of the first successful injection of insulin, which took place in January 1922. The goal of this flagship fundraising event is for our Leaders – along with supporters across Canada – to raise a collective $15M and get us closer to our goal of a future without T1D.
Cadillac Fairview (CF) immediately came forward to be the event’s premier partner. We spoke to Sal Iacono, Executive Vice President of Operations at CF about supporting this year’s fundraising event.
What made CF decide to support JDRF Canada and our Let’s Make History Again event?
CF has been a longtime supporter of JDRF for the past 20 years. This year we’re taking our relationship to new heights (literally) by having four CF properties across the country be the site of this exciting, milestone event, and help JDRF raise awareness for an important cause. Together, alongside our longtime partner, Oliver & Bonacini, we are excited to make history with JDRF.
How does your support of this event tie-in to your organization’s social responsibility goals?
At CF, our Purpose of Transforming Communities for a Vibrant Tomorrow is our north star. It’s the reason we exist, and shows up in how we support our people, partners, and communities. We have a strong legacy of supporting our communities, clients and partners and the causes that are important to them to inspire meaningful change. This is a true example of extending our support to our longtime partner, Oliver & Bonacini, by mobilizing impactful change across our national workforce.
Our Leaders in History will be living atop of flagpoles on many of your properties in support of type one diabetes research this April. How have you (or will you) engage your staff team in support of CF’s involvement in LMHA?
We’re proud to support the campaign by hosting the Flagpole 100 Challenge at four CF office towers across Canada. We’ve already started teasing the event internally to excite our teams and we will encourage local CF’ers and those who have supported JDRF for years to come out and show their support in person, if it’s safe to do so.
In addition to hosting the Flagpole 100 Challenge, CF has made a $100,000 donation to JDRF, furthering our ongoing support in the fight to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.
What would a cure for type 1 diabetes mean for Canada?
Now more than ever, health is top of mind. This would be an incredible accomplishment to transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of Canadians to live without complication and empower those affected to live life to the fullest. It would also continue to inspire individuals and communities that together anything can be achieved.
JDRF thanks CF for its significant contribution to our Let’s Make History Again event. It is with the support of important corporate partners like CF that we can find the most promising T1D research and get closer to our goal of finding a cure. To learn more: www.canadacuresdiabetes.ca
