Residents run to raise funds for diabetes

• run/walk

Participants line up in anticpation of the race's beginning

Talk about it

Organizers raised an estimated $3,000 at the second annual 5 kilometer walk/run for diabetes research early Saturday morning. Fifty-two people participated.

“I love to run and it’s a great cause,” said Anna Frenzel, Dickinson resident.

The Kuylen family from Dickinson made the walk a family affair.

“Our son, Dawson, has type 1 diabetes,” said LaRae Kuylen. “He was diagnosed about a year and a half ago.”

She added the rest of their children are at high risk for getting the disease.

The Dickinson Eagles Auxiliary 2328 and St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center began sponsoring the event to raise money for the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center at the University of Iowa.

“Last year we had 30 participants and raised $2,100,” said Robin Schatz, past president of the auxiliary.

The Fraternal Order of the Eagles as a whole, nationwide, is able to donate about $5 million a year, said Kim Kremer, auxiliary secretary.

All the money raised goes to research, not the building of the research center, said Kremer.

“It is important that we raise money for research and without funding researches would not be able to continue their work in finding ways to give people the chance to live diabetes free,” LaRae Kuylen said.

Diabetes mellitus or simply, diabetes is a group of diseases characterized by high blood glucose levels that result from defects in the body’s ability to produce and/or use insulin, according the American Diabetes Association website.

It is estimated that 23.6 million children and adults in the U.S. have diabetes, according to the association.

Tags: news, run, fundraiser, diabetes