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Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland Newsletter
April 2011                                                                              
Volume 2, Issue 2 
 
Swim for Diabetes logo
SWIM IS HERE!
Get ready to splash for a good cause next week at the 2011 Swim for Diabetes.  It's not too late to sign up to participate or to volunteer. Call Lori at 216-591-0800 to sign up and help make this year's event the best Swim ever! For more information, click here to visit the Swim for Diabetes website.
Check Out Our
Swim corkboard photo of girl

Thank you to our friends at  Blue Star Design of Cleveland for our web flyer on their virtual corkboard and their support of Swim for Diabetes!

 CHMK Early Bird Registration Special by April 15!
Red bird with worm

Camp Ho Mita Koda is offering Early Bird Savings to campers who pay their camp fees in full by April 15! Savings depend on session length. There are still spaces available for all residential sessions and daylong programs. Financial aid is available. Please visit  www.CampHoMitaKoda.org for registration information and to save today!

Receive Free Golf Hole Sponsorship
Golf club hitting golf ball
Register on-line by May 3 for DAGC's 20th Annual Golf Tournament presented by Consolidated Graphics Group to receive a FREE hole sponsorship.  The tournament will be held Monday, June 6, 2011 at Canterbury Golf Club in Shaker Heights. Visit www.dagc.org to register today!
It's Time to Take Back Your Life!
Leafy tree branch
   Come learn how to better manage your diabetes at the next session of the Diabetes Matters: Empowerment Group Wednesday, April 20 from 10-11:30 am at the Beck Center YMCA in Lakewood (17801 Detroit Avenue). 
   The group is led by educators from DAGC in collaboration with Lakewood Hospital Diabetes and Endocrine Center and is open to anyone with diabetes or pre-diabetes.  Family members are welcome, too. A different topic will be discussed each month.  The topic for April is "Everything You Need to Know About Monitoring."
   The sessions are free and reservations are not required.  For more information, contact Siri at DAGC-- 216-591-0800.
Well-Deserved Honor!

Bill Durica 

     Congratulations to DAGC volunteer Bill Durica of Bay Village for being named a 2011 United Way Spotlight Volunteer. The award was announced at United Way's Annual Meeting on March 10.  Spotlight Volunteers is an annual recognition of exceptional volunteers who give their time and talent to help those in need at United Way agencies.  DAGC is a United Way agency.

     Bill has been a volunteer at Camp Ho Mita Koda for five years. He has worked tirelessly on many carpentry projects throughout camp, including renovating the popular CHMK totem poles carved by camp founder, Dr. Henry John.  Thank you, Bill, for all you do for camp and congratulations!

 iAlert

DAGC is now part of Channel 3's iAlert closing notification system in case of inclement weather.  Tune in to Channel 3 or visit www.wkyc.com to see if a DAGC program is cancelled due to bad weather this winter.
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How to Reach Us...
Cleveland, OH
44122-5719
216-591-0800
216-591-0320 (fax) 
 

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Please visit us at www.dagc.org.  
Helen M. Dumski, MA, RD, LD/President & CEO
Helen Dumski headshot

   Spring may bring flowers and the return of birdsong to our community, but to hundreds of people in northeast Ohio, spring also brings Swim for Diabetes! The 26th annual Swim for Diabetes will be held April 8, 9 and 10 at 47 pools throughout northeast Ohio. A few hundred people-some of whom are your friends and family members-will be swimming laps, "water walking" or simply walking laps around pools to raise funds for diabetes awareness and education.

   Many people also participate in Swim for Diabetes to honor someone they know who lives with diabetes or to remember a loved one who had diabetes. One doesn't have to look far to see the large impact diabetes has on people with diabetes--the health challenges, the lifestyle changes, the daily reminders. Swimming with a loved one in mind puts a "face" on diabetes-it becomes more than counting carbs, testing glucose, and taking insulin. Swim for Diabetes puts the person before the disease and is another way many people show support and respect for those living with the disease-a beloved mother, a cherished grandfather, a dear sister, a special friend.

   The DAGC staff and I look forward to seeing many of you at Swim and sharing your stories of loved ones remembered and honored that weekend...and throughout the year. 

Plant A Garden On Your Plate

Flowers and plants are starting to show their colors as spring is finally making an appearance. Most of us could use this time of year to remind ourselves that colorful plants are very important to living a healthy life. The colors on your plate can determine if your meals are healthy and well-balanced. And though everyone benefits from eating healthy, well-balanced meals, it's even more important for people with diabetes. So check out the colors on your plate. The more colors you see, the more vitamins and minerals you are eating. Click here for a fruit and vegetable color guide to help you brighten up your plate this spring and every season.

Diabetes Ambassadors: Friendly Faces Reach Out to Help You

   The Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland is reachingField of yellow tulips out to help the community understand diabetes with its new corps of trained volunteers, the Diabetes Ambassadors.  Because diabetes affects one in 10 people in the Cleveland area, most people in our community are likely to have diabetes or know someone who does.

   Diabetes Ambassadors help people touched by

diabetes get answers about managing diabetes.  They talk to family members, co-workers and community or church groups about diabetes. They help people understand diabetes risk factors and symptoms and discuss how diabetes can be controlled. 

   Diabetes Ambassadors are available for free 30-minute presentations in either English or Spanish.  Diabetes educational materials will be provided.  If you are interested in having a Diabetes Ambassador come talk to your group about diabetes or if you are interested in attending a Diabetes Ambassadors training session on April 30 (reservations required), contact MaryAnn at 216-591-0800 or at mnicolay@dagc.org.

April DAGC Diva Session:                                         The Ups & Downs of Diabetes

Come learn more about the "Ups & Downs of Diabetes"  at the next DAGC Diva session Saturday, April 2 at 9:30 am at DAGC's office in Beachwood.Yo-yo cartoon Mary Ellen Willen, who has type 2 diabetes and is an A1c Champion with Sanofi Aventis, will discuss concerns and misconceptions about taking insulin. Sessions are free and open to any woman whose life has been touched by diabetes.

Call 216-591-0800, ext. 16 to make your reservation today!

DAGC Welcomes Three New Board Members

   The Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland is pleased to announce the addition of three community members to its 2011-12 Board of Directors:  William

Joe Baker

Baker

Joseph Baker, Steve Gerbasi and Ann Williams.  Baker is a law partner at the firm of Giffen & Kaminski, LLC in Cleveland.  Gerbasi of Hinckley is president of

Steve Gerbasi

Gerbasi

Cleveland Industrial Group, Inc. He has been a "hands-on" volunteer at Camp Ho Mita Koda for several years and earned DAGC's "Volunteer of the Year Award" in 2008.

   Williams is a Research Associate at Case Western Reserve's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing.  She has been involved with research and patient education efforts at DAGC for

Ann Williams

Williams

many years. One of her primary efforts has been to make sure people with visual impairment have appropriate access to diabetes education materials.

   Each of these new members will serve a three-year term.  We welcome their commitment to DAGC's mission of helping those with diabetes in our community.

Teen Remembers Others on Her Special Day

When guests received their invitations to Ariel Woldman's Bat Mitzvah ceremony last fall, they also received a unique request tucked into the special envelope. An inserted card asked

Ariel Woldman & parents w/ Dumski

Ariel Woldman, accompanied by her parents, makes her donation to DAGC President & CEO Helen Dumski (right)

guests to consider donating at least $1 to the Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland in place of traditional gifts.  This small gesture was the Solon teenager's big way of making a difference in the lives of those she loves and other people in the community who have diabetes. Read more about Ariel and her decision to help others.

2011 MARK YOUR CALENDAR
(Please call 216-591-0800 with questions. Visit www.dagc.org and www.CampHoMitaKoda.org for more details).

April 2               DAGC Diva Coaching Session
April 6               DAGC "Fill the House" Night at Indians game
April 8-10           26th Annual Swim for Diabetes
April 15              CHMK Early Bird Deadline
April 20              Diabetes Matters: Empowerment Group
April 30              Diabetes Ambassadors training session
May 3                 Golf Tournament Early Bird Deadline
May 21               Swim for Diabetes Night at Indians game
June 6                20th Annual Golf Tournament sponsored by
                               Consolidated Graphics Group
June 11              Camp Ho Mita Koda Spring Bike Ride
June 18              Camp Ho Mita Koda Open House
September 10      Backpack Bivouac XX
October 29          Promenade
 
 
The Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland (DAGC) is a local, independent nonprofit agency dedicated to helping the 1 in 10 people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in Northeast Ohio.  One hundred percent of funds raised remain in our community to support diabetes education and services and
Camp Ho Mita Koda for children with diabetes.
DAGC is not affiliated with any national organization.

Diabetes MattersTM  is a trademark of the

Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland.  All rights reserved.