Red Carpet Oscar Party to Benefit JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation)

“It’s an untraditional way to support a traditional disease,” Ashley Pettit, a health and nutritionist expert from Ashley Pettit Living, stated as she emceed for the event. While the Red Carpet award ceremony was playing on all the screens throughout the Municipal Bar, a DJ spun during the commercial breaks. All the while the attendees bid on exciting silent auction items to benefit JDRF, while sipping on movie themed cocktails and enjoying a by-the-bite dinner.

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. JDRF’s goal is to progressively remove the impact of T1D from people’s lives until we achieve a world without the disease. JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners and is the only organization with the scientific resources, regulatory influence, and a working plan to better treat, prevent, and eventually cure T1D.


Trent Jackson has been on the board of the Young Leadership Committee, a branch of JDRF, for 2 years and has been diabetic for 30. He described what it was like when he first found out that he had type 1 juvenile diabetes, which is where the pancreas shuts down and doesn’t produce enough insulin, he was constantly thirsty and had to use the restroom every 30 minutes. He has adjusted his whole life around being diabetic and said “consistency is a big part of diabetes, but it is also the hardest part because it is hard to be consistent!” He has found a loving community to commune with through JDRF and is extremely grateful to be a part of the lovely community.

To learn more about JDRF, please follow JDRF Illinois on Facebook, YouTube and on Twitter as @JDRFIllinois! Also, be sure to check the Chapter’s website: www.illinois.jdrf.org for news on JDRF, diabetes research, and the local Chapter.

Written by Elaine Rau