(MINEOLA, N.Y.) - Nassau County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D - Glen Cove) joined County officials and diabetes awareness and research advocates to commemorate National Diabetes Awareness Month (NDAM) during a dome-lighting ceremony at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building on Thursday, Nov. 14.
According to the American Diabetes Association, approximately 30.3 million Americans have diabetes. Most have type 2 diabetes, in which the body does not use insulin properly. Of those 30 million-plus Americans, 1.25 million Americans have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, in which the body does not produce insulin at all. The ADA also projects that another 40,000 Americans will be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes this year.
Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton, whose daughter was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes at age three, has been an outspoken advocate for diabetes awareness, treatment and research for more than a decade. During that time, she became a prolific fundraiser for the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation and has helped to raise more than $1 million toward research for a cure.
“As we continue our mission to find a cure for diabetes, I was truly inspired by the strong show of support at this dome-lighting ceremony,” Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton said. “Events like these shine a bright light of efforts to eradicate a disease that impacts nearly American family, and I will continue to use my voice to advocate for essential treatment and research efforts that will one day allow us to turn the page of diabetes once and for all.”
To further advance those efforts, Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton and her fellow event committee board members will host the 17th annual Cooking for A Cure, a benefit for the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, at the Crescent Club in Bayville at April 6, 2020. For additional information, call her district office at 516-571-6211.
