Back together again

The 2022 Sun Life Walk to Cure Diabetes for JDRF was a huge success!

The Walk is the largest fundraising event in Canada to support type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. As a result of the pandemic, for the last two years, JDRF had to shift to a virtual event, and while our supporters still made the Walk an exciting and successful fundraiser – there’s nothing like the T1D community being together in person.

This year, we were so excited to reunite many communities across Canada. We asked you to Step Up to Cure Diabetes and did you ever! We were amazed by the dedication and commitment of our participants.

Almost 900 teams registered in more than 45 communities with each province and territory being able to support JDRF too.

As of June 28, more than $2M has been raised in support of the most promising diabetes research with additional Walks still set to take place.

We designated June as Walk Month and there were two ways to participate in the Walk.

JDRF led signature walks, in Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax on June 12 and across the country, volunteer-led community walks brought together the T1D community.

The Walk is more than just a fundraiser. It’s a chance for families living with T1D to get together, share their stories and offer support. For many first-year Walkers, they or their child were diagnosed during the pandemic, and this was the first time they could meet safely with others who have already been there. Families talked about going back to school for the first time with T1D, nutrition and exercise tips, and helped those who have been newly diagnosed know they were not alone.

Cassie’s son, Connor, was diagnosed with T1D in 2020 at the age of five. It’s important for Cassie that Connor knows that he is not alone.

“It’s not just about raising money, or awareness, it’s that sense of community. It’s about celebrating the resilience of all the kids who live with T1D and connecting with other parents and families who know exactly what you are going through. It meant the world to me to see Connor’s face light up when he saw other kids wearing fanny packs, sporting their pumps & CGMs. It’s one thing to see kids like him on social media, but it is on a whole different level when he sees them in person,” – Cassie Donnelly, Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Most signature Walks had a tent designated specifically for new families, supported by JDRF Volunteer and Community Engagement staff to provide the most up to date information and resources. Games were set up for the kids and emcees helped keep the energy going with music. Across the country, each Walk location had their own unique offerings for the T1D community.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all our sponsors, who helped us welcome Walk participants back to in-person events! With their support, we were able to offer an incredible day with pre-Walk stretching, delicious refreshments and valuable resources for T1D families.

At the Toronto location, MP Sonia Sidhu announced the renewal of the JDRF-CIHR Partnership to Defeat Diabetes, a commitment of $30 million in new funding for T1D research.

Walk Day was a day of fun, sharing, a lot of laughter and some tears. We are so grateful to everyone who helped to make it happen and are excited to see the T1D community gather at upcoming Walks.

Thank you so much to our Walkers, volunteers, donors and our national partners. We could not have done it without you. Every step that you took brings us closer to a world free from type 1 diabetes.

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Thank you to our onsite partners for welcoming participants back to
in-person events!

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Local partners

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Community partners