For the first time since 2019, the Sun Life Walk to Cure Diabetes for JDRF will be taking place as a group event.

Walkers from Regina and surrounding area will start their walk at the Queen Building Sunday at 11 am with guest speakers like CKRM Voice of the Saskatchewan Roughriders Michael Ball and former Humboldt Bronco Kaleb Dahlgren.

“Of course with Covid, we’ve been shut down and haven’t been able to do in-person events so the response from the community has been very strong and we’re looking to have a great day this Sunday for the juvenile diabetes community,” said Randy Durovick, the local chair for the fundraiser that aims to find a cure for juvenile type 1 diabetes.

JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, a media release said. They said their mission is to
accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications.

There are 300,000 people across Canada with type 1 diabetes and an above average proportion of them live in Saskatchewan.

In addition to Dahlgren and Meela Cherepuschak, a young student from Pilot Butte, as the event’s ambassadors, Durovick talked about Ball.

“He’s a diabetic himself and he’s going to be saying a few words,” Durovick said. “Lastly, Gene Makowski is a former CFL all star player for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and is now the minister of social services so he’s going to be saying a few words during the program.”

Close to 30 walks will be held across Canada this year with the goal of raising $2.8 million.

Durovick said it’s not too late to get involved in the fundraiser.

“You can register online firstly, and what’s really cool is the Foundation has online fundraising tools that you can use to raise pledges,” he said. “So simply you can use Facebook or send out emails or like I say use the tool that’s online to solicit pledges from family, friends and relatives for the walk.”