Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an incurable autoimmune disease that causes the body’s antibodies to destroy the beta cells in the pancreas that create insulin—which every person needs in order to turn food into energy. Two million American children, teens, and adults currently live with T1D.
People with T1D must monitor their blood sugars throughout the day and determine the right amount of insulin to take, which is impacted by food, exercise, stress, and many other factors. If they don’t, they could have a seizure from a low blood sugar or face long term complications (like blindness, amputation, and kidney disease) from high blood sugars. People with T1D have to make 180 medical decisions every single day. This can make people with T1D less likely to try new things because of the fear and stress of having to manage T1D.
Problems
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Expensive
T1D is extremely expensive, with the uninsured and underinsured paying as much as $1,200 a month just for their insulin. 1-in-4 diabetics in the U.S. ration their insulin because they simply can’t afford it. With blood glucose test strips and devices like insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, many people with T1D can’t afford expensive events that would connect them with their community for education and empowerment.
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Isolating
The coupling of an “invisible” disease with the stigmatization of diabetes makes people less likely to find other people with diabetes and less like to search them out, isolating people with T1D. Only 25% of people with T1D have friends that they can empathize with.
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Exhausting
Managing T1D can itself feel like a full time job, which is why 25% of people with diabetes experience depression. Unfortunately, most endocrinology programs focus solely on physical health and do not address the mental strain that accompanies managing a chronic, high maintenance, financially burdensome disease.
Our Mission
The Beta Cell Foundation is a 501(c)(3) that develops grassroots projects by type 1 diabetics to educate, empower, and unite our community. By drawing on diabetics’ experiences, we’re empowering people to give back to their community and make it stronger in ways that don’t necessarily align with fundraising benchmarks.
Beta Cell Foundation staff are all unpaid volunteers so that every donation goes directly to helping our own community. We are the only diabetes nonprofit to be 100% financially transparent with every expense we incur.
T1Ds in the Wild
T1Ds in the Wild is an immersive outdoor experience for adults living with T1D to help remove the barriers we face in benefiting from the outdoors through:
- managing T1D in the outdoors
- finding in-person community support
- building mental resilience by facing the unknown
- de-stressing in nature
Studies have shown that camping can increase happiness and mindfulness and decrease stress, yet, because of the many obstacles in managing blood sugars, people with T1D are half as likely to go camping regularly as the rest of the population.
Teaching people with T1D how to camp safely will not only bridge the gap in accessing the outdoors, but will help people with T1D lead fuller, happier, and healthier lives.
Activities Include:
⛺️ camping basics
🥾 hiking
🧗 rock climbing
🧠 discussing mental health
🩹 intro first aid
🧭 way-finding
🍳 camp cooking
🗑 learning Leave No Trace
Solutions
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Accessibility
We want to make our trips as inclusive as possible for new campers, so we don’t charge any fee for them to attend and supply all of the food for the entire weekend. We make sure that anyone who doesn’t have a sleeping bag, tent, or other equipment will have access to them, removing yet another potential financial barrier.
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Community
By keeping our camps intentionally small, we create a supportive environment that increases the time campers spend getting to know each other and help forge the lifelong friendships that will people with T1D desperately need.
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Empowerment
T1Ds in the Wild will not only show the practical how-tos of camping to make the outdoors more approachable, but our program is designed to teach the resilience and problem solving needed to manage T1D in everyday life too. Seeing that other people are tackling the same challenges gives us the motivation to push our perceived limits—creating a truly transformative experience.
“It doesn’t happen often that a group of people is so welcoming and accepting that you feel comfortable doing something you maybe otherwise wouldn’t.”
“To connect so easily and intimately with a community I didn’t know was out there was humbling and provided me a lot of encouragement.”
“I made friends I still hangout with and got exposed to camping which I’d always wanted to try and now have more confidence in (and do regularly).”
“I feel much more open to new experiences with fellow T1Ds and have learned to step out of my comfort zone.”
You Can Help
Your financial support will allow us to host even more camping trips in more locations, taught by trained outdoor professionals who have T1D too, ensuring that one’s economic background isn’t a barrier to this life-changing and life-saving weekend.
All support for T1Ds in the Wild is 100% tax-deductible.
S’mores Sponsor
$2,000 Annually
- Logo and link on website
- Recognition in Beta Cell Foundation newsletter as event sponsor
- Thank you in social media posts
Campfire Sponsor
$5,000 Annually
- Logo and link on website
- Recognition in Beta Cell Foundation newsletter as event sponsor
- Thank you in social media posts
- Enclose product sampling, coupon, or brochure for campers
Sunrise Sponsor
$10,000 Annually
- Logo and link on website
- Recognition in Beta Cell Foundation newsletter as event sponsor
- Thank you in social media posts
- Enclose product sampling, coupon, or brochure for campers
- Logo displayed on banner at camping trips
Want to support us with an in-kind donation or have something else in mind? Send us a message!
