More than a Red Triangle-y Logo Thingamajig

Day five of Diabetes Blog Week meets us with the topic “Awesome things” – sound good, right? It is! Here’s the official explanation:

In February the #dsma blog carnival challenged us to write about the most awesome thing we’d done DESPITE diabetes .  Today let’s put a twist on that topic and focus on the good things diabetes has brought us.  What awesome thing have you (or your child) done BECAUSE of diabetes?  After all, like [Karen of Bitter-Sweet]’s blog header says, life with diabetes isn’t all bad!

What do you think about when you hear the words, “American Diabetes Association”? Before I started working at the Association, my answer would have been “A red triangle-y logo thingamajig.”

Truth is, the Association is full of dedicated staff and volunteers, stories of life and love, and research theorems that bring me hope. The Stop Diabetes® movement was created to harness all of these elements, and this blog was created to share them.

When we started the Diabetes Stops Here blog, there were no examples of patient blogs serving as the main blogs for nonprofit organizations that could provide us with an idea of what to expect. Instead, we set out to do something new – to put a face on the Association and its work. We are a group of advocates, experts, researchers, volunteers and staff who dream of putting a stop to diabetes.

I’m proud to be the Association’s first blogger, to show that there are people behind the “red triangle-y logo thingamajig” and to be the staff and patient blogger behind the organization’s blog. But that does bring up the question – how are we doing? What are we missing? Is there anything you’d like to see more (or less) of?  Feedback is welcome any time – comment below or send an email to diabetesstopshere@diabetes.org.