The Penguin Walkers have been fundraising to help find a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D) for more than twenty years. Team captains, Darlene Boyd and John Freeman, are inspired by their daughter Aurora, who was diagnosed with T1D in 1987. “We support JDRF One Walk because JDRF is the most aggressive organization we have ever encountered that is dedicated to finding a cure for T1D,” says Darlene.

The name of their team is derived from Aurora’s love of penguins. While she was majoring in marine biology at UCSC, she volunteered at the penguin exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and became enamored with the birds. Recognizing this adds to the fun of Walk Day, but make no mistake, these walkers find deep meaning in their participation.

“We enjoy the camaraderie of families coming together for a common cause and celebrating our success in collectively raising money for research,” says Darlene.

Darlene and John also serve as family team coaches, helping others become more active and involved in the Walk. “This is such a dedicated and vibrant community of volunteers,” says Darlene. This year, the team will invite Virtual Walkers to participate with them. This means that even if a friend or family member can’t attend the Walk in person, they can still run a fundraising campaign and virtually “walk” to support the Penguin Walkers.

Why do they come back year after year? “It is so important to collectively fundraise, as it gives all of us a feeling of empowerment, knowing that we are contributing to aggressive research to cure this disease. We have made so much progress. There are now several levels of how to manage this disability from which to choose and the advances in these areas are coming so rapidly. With these constant improvements hope is ever abundant for better prevention and a cure,” says Darlene. “Besides,” she says, “it is just plain fun to actually interact with others who would like to help and feel good about doing so.”

Register for JDRF One Walk at walk.jdrf.org.