Arkansas Chapter, JDRF Announces Annual Gala
Little Rock, Arkansas, February 18, 2015 — The Arkansas Chapter, JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) will host its annual JDRF Imagine Gala Saturday, April 25, 2015 at the Statehouse Convention Center from 6pm-11pm. The sole purpose of this event is to raise funds for type 1 diabetes research, in order to find a cure.
The Imagine Gala is being presented by the BKD Foundation and The Family of John Alexander Rockefeller. LuAnne and Rob Seay are serving as the Gala Co-chairmen. Melissa and Martin Thoma, co-founders and owners of Thoma Thoma, will accept the JDRF Living & Giving Award; this award is presented to a member of the community or a company who has greatly influenced the lives of others through generosity, service, volunteerism and leadership.
The JDRF Fund A Cure auction, which will take place towards the end of the evening, is unique to JDRF. During this part of the program, Gala patrons will be given the opportunity to make a contribution, of which, 100 percent goes to research and is 100 percent tax-deductible. Launched in 1994, Fund A Cure has raised $186 million to date.
Serving as hosts for the evening are the JDRF Ambassadors, a group of children with type 1 diabetes (T1D), who provide diabetes education to the public and service to JDRF. Throughout the evening, the JDRF Ambassadors will greet and mingle with guests, serve as auction table hosts, and present live auction gifts to the highest bidders.
JDRF is dedicated to its mission to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. The goal of JDRF research is to improve the lives of all people affected by type 1 diabetes (T1D) by accelerating progress on the most promising opportunities for curing, better treating, and preventing T1D. JDRF was founded in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes – a disease which strikes suddenly, making the person insulin dependent for life. However, insulin is not a cure for diabetes nor does it prevent the possibility of devastating complications.
Sponsorship opportunities, tables, and individual tickets are available. Tickets are $200 per individual or $2,000 per table of ten, and sponsorships start at $2,500. To learn more about this organization, its volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, or to make a tax-deductible donation to Fund A Cure, contact the JDRF office at (501) 217-0321 or via email at [email protected].
