Juvenile diabetes walk-a-thon raises $125,000

The saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
And on Saturday, May 30, over 1,500 people came out to step up and help find a cure at the First Annual South Queens Juvenile Diabetes Walk-A-Thon to Cure Diabetes.
Organized by the International Society of SS Cosma and Damiano, the walk raised over $125,000.
It drew celebrities such as Goomba Johnny from radio station KTU; Tony Sirico a.k.a. “Paulie Walnuts” from “The Sopranos”; Valerie Smaldone from radio station 106.7, and former “American Idol” contestant Pia Toscano – and political leaders like Senator Joseph, Addabbo Assemblymember Audrey Pheffer, City Councilmember Eric Ulrich and Democratic District Leader Frank Gulluscio.
But the real stars of the day were the five children who led the walk – Jacob Levine, Meghan Kavanagh, Vincent Gurino, Michael Mure and Joe Russo – and the people who came out to raise awareness.
“We need to find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes,” said Joe Mure, Treasurer of the New York Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). “Millions of kids suffer from this disease.”
In fact, the numbers seem staggering. Each year over 15,000 children are diagnosed with diabetes in the United States – 40 per day – according to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
“Juvenile Diabetes is such an ongoing disease that our presence is very important,” said Mario Faulisi, a member of the Society for five years.
Emily Weber of Howard Beach said she came out to walk for Jacob, 9, diagnosed in February.
Jacob is the son of Joseph De Candia, President of the Society, and his wife Doreen.
“What they [the De Candias] do for this community is priceless,” said Weber.
“I am very excited to be part of a community that comes together to support us,” said Doreen, who said that Jacob is “doing very well.”
“He is 100 percent insulin dependent. He tests his blood at least 10 times a day and gets more than 10 needles. He’s been a trooper.”
Before the walk kicked off, there was a ceremony during which Toscano sang the National Anthem and De Candia thanked everyone in the community for their support.
“I’m so impressed by the amazing turnout,” he said, before thanking local business and schools, especially Our Lady of Grace (OLG), which raised over $8,500 and hosted the ceremony in its schoolyard.
“[Today] we take a giant step closer to finding a cure,” said Mure.
The ribbon was cut as white doves were released and the people of Howard Beach took some very important steps toward improving the lives of millions of children.
To learn more about JDRF, visit www.jdrf.org.