Mission Statement Message From Our Executive Director Programs and Services DDF Information Privacy Policy Website Information Web Advertising Policy Sponsorship Program One Step at a Time Song AP Mandell US State Dept Kuwait Diab Aware Prog

 

 

 

     

A Message From Our Executive Director

Andrew P. Mandell – MR. DIABETES®
July 2009

June was a month of many new developments for DDF.  A number of programs are moving forward at a predictable pace and spell good news for diabetics in the weeks and months ahead.  But, I spent a good amount of time fulfilling a commitment I had made to the Department of Defense.  I’ll explain…………..

Several months ago I was nominated to serve on a panel that reviews Grant Applications from various universities, or similar, applying for government grants in the field of diabetes (autoimmune diseases).  I was one of only two “Consumer Reviewers”, along with a panel of very prestigious medical and science professionals, who were assigned a number of Grant Applications to review.  We had a number of weeks to review and research each application to assess its merit, feasibility, strategy, budget and, finally, its impact on the diabetic community if approved.

These grants were/are to be funded through the Department of Defense and each has a consideration in its presentation regarding Type 1 diabetes and its ultimate impact on the military, as well as the general public.  The panel met on July 3 and each grant was thoroughly dissected and reviewed by each of us and, then, scored accordingly by points allotted for each category (above) and written commentary.

As I, and the other Consumer Reviewer, do not have a medical or scientific background, our input was directed specifically at how each Grant Application would impact diabetics.  I can assure you that we did our jobs and our diabetic constituency was very well represented. It was interesting, to say the least.  The other Consumer Reviewer was Andrew E. Hooker of Sarasota, Florida.  Mr. Hooker was well selected for this position; he is VP of the Sarasota Count Veterans Commission, a disabled war combatant from the Vietnam War (2 tours of duty in a helicopter gun crew) and a diabetic as a result of Agent Orange – a chemical widely used during the Vietnam conflict.

The next step in the process was to move on to another panel for further review, which would include additional considerations.  Then, to the U.S. Congress for final approval and funding.  Each application requested at least one million dollars, some of them requiring additional funding at a later date.

Due to strict rules of confidentiality we were each pledged to not discuss the grants applications outside of the review conducted at the time the panel met for that purpose.  I wish I could express myself publicly because I have strong feelings about some of the proposals I reviewed; some positive and some negative.

I am honored to have been nominated and accepted for this position.  It is a direct result of the good work and high regard the U.S. Government has for Defeat Diabetes Foundation.  Further, DDF is a staunch supporter of the U.S. Military.  They contacted DDF, initially.

Other similar honors worth mentioning:  Defeat Diabetes Foundation was invited to participate in a Bill before the California State Legislature (in writing) and Dawn Swidorski, our Public Outreach Director, is invited to appear and testify before the California State Legislature when this Bill reaches the floor for discussion.

Also, DDF was just invited to link to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ branch of the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), Bargaining Unit 6 Local 282.  It covers 4000 Massachusetts state employees across 20 agencies.  NAGE is a national union headquartered in Quincy, MA and is an affiliate of SEIU.  The eventual outreach could be up to 98,000 employees.

I want to thank Greg Sorozon, President of Unit 6, Local 282 and National VP of NAGE and Bruce Share for making Defeat Diabetes Foundation one of their resource partners.  For more information:   www.nage.org

DDF is a reliable resource for diabetes information and is frequently used by government, media and others for that purpose.

I want to encourage everyone to continue to support DDF during these troubled times, as the work we do is so important in saving lives – yours, your family’s & friends, and the general public.  Learn more about us:   www.DefeatDiabetes.org  

Good Health.

Andrew P. Mandell - MR. DIABETES®
Executive Director

 

 

 

 

 

 Costa Rica Travel Corp. will donate a portion of the proceeds to and is a sponsor of Defeat Diabetes Foundation.