Zone

Get

Involved

Donate or

Support Us

Event

Calendar

Media

On the Dance Floor...

Tarantella

Saying Farewell to DOD!

10 Years Later, I Wish You Well

In 2005, I had a thought about what was missing from the field of diabetes: prevention and management, and being active in a way that involves and includes everyone. It was called Dance Out Diabetes! Although it was born in 2009, it took years to get the non-profit status and put together our programs.

We started something innovative. We brought the diabetes clinic to the dance floor. We helped to prevent and manage diabetes. We made many friends. For this we are be proud.

Please join me in celebrating all that we have accomplished at the September dance. Sadly, it will be our last dance. We will keep the website up for reference. Unfortunately, we do not have enough funds to provide incentives for this dance but we will have free DOD towels and mugs while supplies last, and after we do the after dance glucose, we will give away select DOD goodies (such as the scale, blood pressure cuffs and such).

It is time to say so long, farewell. Thank you for being a part of this journey. See my note below if you'd like to stay connected in other ways.

Tarantella with Alessandra Belloni this Saturday,

9/12/15, 1-3 p.m.!

Tarantella is a dance of healing involving Southern Italian folk dances and rituals. Learn chants used to invoke the healing power of the sun and moon, as well as a repertoire of therapeutic dances, accompanied by the beat of Frame drums and tambourines.

Learn more about Alessandra's Tarantella class HERE!

Join us for the last time at the African American Art & Culture Complex located at 762 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 (Muni access & free parking).

No need to register. Just show up! Participants get a FREE $277 value health screening.

Please arrive promptly at 1 p.m. for check-in (or 1:15 p.m. if you are not doing the health screening). Bring water, a snack if you need it, and comfortable shoes.

If possible, participants should wear white clothes to help facilitate the feeling of being part of a "ritual."

Have a question? Call Theresa at 1-877-765-4386 or email her at tgarnero@danceoutdiabetes.org.

Volunteer to Pick Up Instructor

We are looking for a volunteer to pick up and/or drop off our Tarantella instructor, Alessandra, in Oakland before and after the dance this Saturday. Anyone interested please email Theresa by September 10th: tgarnero@danceoutdiabetes.org

Dental Screenings

Dental care is particularly important for those with diabetes. There will be free dental screenings at this Saturday's dance offered by UCSF dental students.

Message of Thanks from DJ & Board of Director, Rosie Castillo (AKA DJ Charis)

I'm completely grateful to DOD for so many reasons. Watching this organization grow like a beautiful flower, the seed was planted one morning over breakfast 10 years ago. Theresa (the Executive Director and Founder) had this wild idea of how to bring her two passions of Diabetes and dancing together, and that's how DOD actually started.

It is hard to believe that we have enjoyed 5 years of that beautiful flower. So much came out of it! We met amazing people from all over supporting, volunteering, dancing, and creating an amazing health community. And like everything in life, we are coming to the end of the cycle, and this flower has bloomed musically. DOD helped me to discover the incredible world of DJing. Thank you, Theresa Garnero, for making DOD a place of health and creativity.

So Long Message from Board of Director, Michelle Barth

It has been such a pleasure to work with Dance Out Diabetes because it has truly been a labor of love for me. I have enjoyed meeting and knowing fellow clinicians as well as all the participants. I have loved being part of a grassroots organization that puts such emphasis on helping people manage and/or prevent diabetes--in a really fun way.

Seeing participants improve their health statistics and seeing them smile as they move their bodies in the various dances has warmed my heart. I had fun dancing with everyone and being present at most of the dances.

I also appreciate all that Theresa Garnero did to make her dream come true. I want to thank her for all of her hard work that truly made this organization an outstanding contribution to the field of Diabetes. I will miss this, and I will miss all the people.

Farewell from Board of Director, Julisa Nunez

For the last five years I have had the great privilege of being a part of an amazing project--Dance Out Diabetes. I have met so many inspirational, amazing and talented people.

Dance out Diabetes has touched and

motivated so many lives. It has empowered people with the knowledge of the importance of health and fitness and how they are intertwined. My hope is that people take what they have learned here and insert it in the rest of their lives. The sweet memories of dancing to Prince and Micheal Jackson while watching the joy on participants' faces will always warm my heart.

So it is with great heartache that I say goodbye to this amazing journey. I want to thank the Board of Directors, who brought their talents and expertise to Dance out Diabetes. Each has made a significant contribution to the organization, reflective of their unique gifts. An enormous thank you to all the volunteers that helped to keep Dance out Diabetes moving; the volunteers were the back bone of this project! Last but not least, I am so grateful to our fearless leader--Theresa Garnero who planted a seed and nurtured it with great care and selflessness. It grew into a beautiful garden in which we all benefit now and for the rest of our lives.

Theresa's Last Column

Well DOD fans, this is it.

Hope you can join us for this very special last dance. Many of you know I am deep into my Italian roots along with the language and culture, which has a little something to do with offering this classic and very fun Italian folk dance called the Tarantella for our last hurrah!

We will be publishing our outcomes from last year in the near future to contribute to the body of diabetes literature showing the science behind what we have accomplished.

In the meantime, if you would like to stay connected, I am opening a virtual private practice. This means I have organized and will lead a team of expert certified diabetes educators in providing diabetes education and weight management (you probably have already met some of them, like Michelle Barth and others!). We do this over the phone, by Skype, email and text - whichever methods you prefer, at times that fit into your schedule. We realize that diabetes is not convenient and sometimes you don't want to interrupt your work or life schedule to navigate across town to a program. We will offer select evenings and weekend appointments.

Check out

www.diabetescatalysts.com to learn more. Our mission is: Customizing Solutions for Well-Being.
For the DOD family, I will offer 25% off through June 2016. Just tell me your participant ID to qualify.

Additionally, I will put together a newsletter at some point and invite DOD family to opt in or out.

If you'd like to stay in touch with my social media musings, check out my professional pages:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

I am in gratitude to the entire DOD family for this experience, from those who were there 10 years ago, to all those early board meetings, to our launch, to the donors and sponsors, to all our dedicated volunteers, to the participants and your circle of support, to Kenzie - my right arm behind the scenes, to all the diabetes educators and those we've mentored along the way, to founding and existing Board of Directors, with special mention to Michelle Barth and last, but certainly not least, Rosie (aka DJ Charis) who have been there since day 1. I could not have done this without your unwavering support. Our lives have changed forever. My hope is that Dance Out Diabetes touched your life and added positivity and inspiration.

Most sincerely yours,

Theresa Garnero, APRN, BC-ADM, MSN, CDE

Founder and Volunteer Executive Director

THANK YOU, DANCE OUT DIABETES!