Although type 1 diabetes was previously referred to as “juvenile diabetes” it can start at any age. Unlike type 2 diabetes which usually occurs based on excessive weight, inactivity, genetics or age, type 1 diabetes is caused by an autoimmune response, which prevents the pancreas from producing insulin.
Soon after County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton’s (D-Glen Cove) oldest daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of three, she felt the need to do something to help find a cure for this disease that afflicts well over one million Americans. She joined other parents whose children also have type 1 diabetes to raise money for the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, an organization that tests various permanent solutions that will hopefully one day allow patients to live insulin free.
DeRiggi-Whitton and her committee peers have raised well over $1 million for diabetes research over the years. One favorite event is the Annual “Cooking For a Cure” fundraising gala. Because the event has grown larger each year to the point where it outgrew The View in Glen Cove, the committee decided to hold this year’s gala at The Crescent Beach Club in Bayville, which took place in early April. “Rebecca Castronovo and I have co-chair this event for several years,” DeRiggi-Whitton said. “Having Wendy Waller join us as co-chair this year really helped make the event more successful. She has done a great deal to help find a cure for her niece Dara.”
Having started the event 15 years ago, Jeanine DiMenna, award-winning chef and owner of The View, has been exceptionally generous in so many ways in support of the Cooking For the Cure event. The committee felt it was high time that she be honored for all that she has done to help make these events more successful. “It was such a pleasure to honor Jeanine this year, DeRiggi-Whitton added. “If it wasn’t for her, the event would never have been started.”
The committee wishes to thank everyone who helped make the event the biggest and most successful ever, including businesses that donated gifts for the more than 100 raffle baskets and all of the generous sponsors.
The Diabetes Research Institute leads the world in cure-focused research, including their ingenious BioHub, which mimics the function of a pancreas. To learn more about the organization, including how to get involved, contact Diedre Hector at 212-888-2217 or dhector@drif.org.
Submitted by Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton
