The American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org) is the largest private organization dedicated to research on the prevention, cure, and management of diabetes, advocacy, and service to the diabetic community. Based out of Alexandria, VA the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has regional offices throughout the U.S. making it easy to contact them and receive any required information. Recognized as a leader in the advancement of diabetes research, information, and education, the ADA website www.diabetes.org provides, concise, easy to understand, and up-to-date information for diabetic patients to better understand the disease and its proper management.
Www.diabetes.org is user-friendly and intuitive. The scroll-down bar on the top of the site lists the general topics “Diabetes Basics”, “Living With Diabetes”, “Food & Fitness” among others. Within these categories are subcategories that open onto individual pages. A great benefit of www.diabetes.org is access to full text scholarly articles on archived and current research conducted by the ADA and published in one of their journals.
www.diabetes.org – stepout.diabetes.org
As part of their advocacy efforts the ADA holds regular fundraising events for individuals to participate in a team-building healthy activity while also raising import funds for the ADA. Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes are national events that are held throughout the year in different states. Stepout.diabetes.org provides a list of planned events as well as an email notification system to notify interested individuals in future events. You can register for a walk as an individual, team member, or team captain. Unlike many fundraising events for charities, Step Out does not have a fundraising minimum and the courses are less challenging, allowing for all ages and abilities to participate. Step Out raises around $20 million for the ADA with 73% of all money raised spent on research, advocacy, education, and public awareness.
For those interested in a more physical challenge there is the Tour de Cure, a fundraising bike ride (not race) that is held in 44 states in the U.S. Courses vary from 10 miles to 100 with route support, food, and fans. For Tour de Cure events there is a fundraising minimum, which varies according to the event. The ADA provides fundraising resources for both Step Out and Tour de Cure, ensuring that participants are able to raise funds while having fun.
www.diabetes.org – Store
A great advantage of www.diabetes.org is the online store (store.diabetes.org). The ADA store is an online resource for diabetics to find books, cookbooks, gifts, and accessories related to diabetes. Additionally, the shop acts as a fundraising opportunity for the ADA, which sells products to raise diabetes awareness. Proceeds from products labeled as “Gift of Hope” go directly to diabetes research.
