However you choose to participate, the important thing is that you do SOMETHING. It is going to take all of us playing a role in our community and being responsible for the way diabetes is understood and talked about in this country. Below are a few ideas of how you could make a difference.

• Volunteer with the Canadian Diabetes Association
  • Join the Speaker's Bureau and help create awareness about the seriousness of diabetes and prevention of Type II diabetes
  • Help out at Diabetes Expos and other events
  • Become an advocacy volunteer and participate in CDA initiatives
  
  
• Volunteer with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
  • JDRF organizes events in communities across the country. Contact your local chapter and lend a hand - it's always fun, and you couldn't meet a more inspired or enthusiastic group of people than parents of diabetic kids!
  
  
• Write letters to the Editor in your local newspaper about diabetes issues
  • Stay informed about what's happening in your province and community with regard to health care, and if you've got an opinion - speak up!
  
  
• Organize a fundraiser and donate the proceeds for diabetes research
  • The McDiarmid family (their 8-year-old son Duncan is diabetic) in Chilliwack, BC did a "pub night" and got items donated for a silent auction. Tickets were $25 to attend, everyone got a meal included, and a great time was had by all. It was amazing to see so many friends & families come together, and that one night raised >$3,000 for diabetes research!
  • Take on a physical challenge and collect pledges for diabetes research
  
  
• Participate in or form your own local support group
  • This doesn't have to be anything formal or big - just a group of people with a common interest who get together once a month to share their experiences and challenges with diabetes.
  
  
• Speak to your coworkers about diabetes
  • There may be somebody in your office who has Type II diabetes and doesn't know it. You may make the difference for them in getting diagnosed and preventing the onset of complications!
  
  
• Be open about your own diabetes and what it takes to manage it well
  • Don't be shy to discuss what diabetes is with your friends & neighbors. That's the only way we're going to dispel the myths out there and give the people in our community an opportunity to support us in managing our health.