On Saturday, October 26, 2013 over 15,000 walkers converged onto Reliant Park for the 2013 Houston Walk to Cure Diabetes for “The Greatest Walk on Earth” bringing in more than $1 million to date for JDRF funded-research.  Over 257 family teams, 151 corporate teams and 350 volunteers came out to celebrate their hard work in fundraising for JDRF and enjoyed a day full of fun and festivities including live music by Harmony Groove, a petting zoo, carnival games by National Charity League volunteers, face painting, jugglers, The Walgreens Wellness Bus, balloon animals, a gaming truck, T-Shirt contest, breakfast catered by La Madeleine and refreshments provided by The Fresh Market, Frito Lay, Coca-Cola Refreshments, Smoothie King, and Schlotzky’s.  Special guests included the Houston Texans Cheerleaders and Emcees Melissa Wilson and Melinda Spaulding of Fox 26.  Adding to the festivities were the 2013 Grand Marshall, Madeline Todd, and over 150 JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes Ambassadors – children, teens and adults who were recognized for their commitment to and excellence in fundraising for JDRF.

 “The 2013 Walk to Cure Diabetes was an amazing success.” shared JDRF Houston’s newly appointed Executive Director, Kristen Stubbs.  “ It was inspiring and heartwarming to see 15,000 people turn out in support of JDRF and the many families living with Type 1 Diabetes.  Huge thanks go to all of our families, our donors, our corporate partners, and our volunteers.  We couldn’t have pulled this event off without your support!”

Leading the charge for corporate fundraising within Houston throughout walk season, was the 2013 Corporate Chair, Dean Ferguson, Vice President and General Manager of US Pipelines for TransCanada and Sequent Energy Management who once again served as this year’s Presenting Sponsor.  Other Walk to Cure Diabetes sponsors included Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Calpine, Eli Lilly, TransCanada, BP America, Sysco, Randalls, Coca-Cola Refreshments, Noble Corporation, Walgreens, CenterPoint Energy, Ernst & Young, Insperity, Marathon Oil, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, PULSE, Fox 26, Frito Lay, The Fresh Market, La Madeline, Schlotzky’s, and Sunbelt Rentals.  The JDRF Houston Gulf Coast Chapter wishes to extend a heartfelt thank-you to all of our sponsors and corporate partners who helped to make this special day an overwhelming success.   The Chapter is well on the way to meeting an overall goal of $1.497 million.  All teams have until December 7, 2013 to continue fundraising for their prizes and awards.  The Walk to Cure Diabetes Award Ceremony honoring the fundraising efforts of our family and corporate teams will be held on Tuesday, January 28, 2014.

Grand Marshall, Madeline Todd and mom Charity; Board President, Marshall Lang; Board Member, Clay Bretches; 2013 Corporate Chair, Dean Ferguson of TransCanada; President of Sequent Energy, Pete Tumminello

Walkers celebrated their fundraising success with a day full of fun and festivities

Additional event photos can be found on JDRF Houston’s Facebook page by clicking here.