Aberdeen FC delighted to be showing support to great cause
This year’s Walk to Cure Diabetes – to be held in Aberdeen’s Hazlehead Park at 11am on 15 September 2013 – marks the 90th anniversary of a Nobel Prize triumph for an Aberdeen hero.
The event, which will raise funds for type 1 diabetes charity JDRF, marks 90 years since John MacLeod, who attended Aberdeen Grammar and Aberdeen University, received the Nobel Prize in 1923.
MacLeod received the global honour for his role in the discovery of insulin and its use as a life-saving treatment for type 1 diabetes.
The Walk to Cure Diabetes in Aberdeen is in its tenth year and has become an important fixture on the city’s charity calendar. Similar events are organised by JDRF throughout the world at the same time with over 600,000 people participating.
Millions of children cope with type 1 diabetes worldwide, with 29,000 in the UK alone. They face a lifetime of multiple daily blood glucose tests, and taking insulin via injections or a pump, to live the life we all take for granted. JDRF is dedicated to better treating, preventing and finding the cure for type 1 diabetes.The organisation has raised more than £1billion for type 1 diabetes medical research worldwide, including significant scientific programmes in Scotland.
This year’s Walk is expected to attract 1,000 participants for the five or seven kilometre journey through Hazlehead Park and has exceeded each target since its inception.Individuals, families and corporate teams comprise the numbers and JDRF is a favoured charity for many companies in the city.This year’s event is being attended by JDRF International Walk Coordinator Jill Clark from the charity’s HQ in New York, as a further acknowledgement of just how important the Aberdeen ‘Walk’ is to funding research into finding a cure.
ASCO CEO and 2013 Walk chair Derek Smith sees the event in very personal terms:
“The annual JDRF walk is a great event for all the family. My son has suffered from type 1 diabetes and I understand the pressures and challenges the disease can bring to bear on the wider family. Every step people take at this event will take us closer to a cure for type 1 diabetes, with every penny raised going towards JDRF. As a city, Aberdeen can take pride in both its historical and contemporary contribution to solving the problems associated with type 1 diabetes.”
Head of AFC in the Community Ally Prockter is delighted to be in a position to support this important event and to help highlight the important historical contribution made by an Aberdonian to the treatment of type 1 diabetes:
“Aberdeen Football Club will always look to support good causes, and the important work undertaken by JDRF clearly fits the bill. Angus the Bull, and others representing AFC in the Community, will take part in the annual JDRF walk this Sunday to help raise awareness of type 1 diabetes, and to encourage others to join in the fun on the day.”
Additional information can be found at www.jdrf.org.uk
