June 12, 2018 — New York, NY – Fitting of its name, the D.A.D.’s Day campaign (Dollars Against Diabetes) will kick off Father’s Day weekend on Friday, June 15, outside some popular New York City landmarks and busy Midtown area from 6 a.m. to 1:30 pm. This long-standing, fundraising initiative is a joint effort by the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) Foundation and North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), whose members will take to the streets on the campaign’s namesake weekend to urge commuters to support DRI and its sole mission to cure diabetes.
NABTU has been a proud supporter of the DRI for nearly 35 years, generating more than $54 million for the Institute’s cure-focused work.
New Yorkers and visitors can help make a difference in the lives of the 30 million Americans who are living with diabetes by dropping some cash in a collection bucket. NABTU members will be stationed at the following locations with official D.A.D.’s Day buckets:
• Penn Station, Seventh and Eighth Avenues, between 31st and 33rd streets
• Port Authority Bus Terminal, Eighth and Ninth Avenues, between 40th and 42nd streets
• Midtown, Sixth Avenue, between 53rd and 54th streets
• Downtown near One World Trade Center, Vesey Street between Church & Greenwich streets
In support of the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI), the men and women of the building and construction trades community, with the help of State and Local Councils throughout North America, have been raising funds for decades through bucket collections, walkathons, motorcycle rallies, golf tournaments and more. In a historic commitment, NABTU funded—and built— the DRI’s state-of-the-art research facility, located at the University of Miami. The longstanding partnership continues today as thousands of union members undertake fundraising projects nationwide to provide ongoing support.
For more information about the Diabetes Research Institute, the D.A.D.’s Day initiative, including the bucket collection in New York City, contact Tom Karlya at tkarlya@drif.org or 800-321-3437.
About the Diabetes Research Institute and Foundation
The mission of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation is to provide the Diabetes Research Institute with the funding necessary to cure diabetes now. The Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine leads the world in cure-focused research. As the largest and most comprehensive research center dedicated to curing diabetes, the DRI is aggressively working to develop a biological cure by restoring natural insulin production and normalizing blood sugar levels without imposing other risks. Researchers have already shown that transplanted islet cells allow patients to live without the need for insulin therapy. Some study participants have maintained insulin independence for more than 10 years. The DRI is now building upon these promising outcomes by developing a DRI BioHub, a bioengineered “mini organ” that mimics the native pancreas. While various BioHub platforms are being tested in preclinical and clinical studies, the DRI is also developing strategies to eliminate the need for anti-rejection drugs and reset the immune system to block autoimmunity. For more information, please visit DiabetesResearch.org, tweet @Diabetes_DRI or call 800-321-3437.
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