Darien Football Raises Money For Juvenile Diabetes Research

DARIEN, CT — Weight lifting is a normal occurrence for athletic teams, but last week's football weight room session at Darien High School took on a little bit more meaning.

On Feb. 29, 60 members of the DHS football team competed in a weightlifting fundraiser and raised over $12,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the leading global organization for funding Type 1 Diabetes research, an autoimmune disease currently with no cure that affects millions of children and adults.

This was the seventh year the DHS football program has raised money for the JDRF through a "Lift For A Cure" event. Altogether, the program has raised nearly $125,000.

Cheering on the players at this year’s event was the Kirby family whose son, Evan, has Type 1 diabetes, and Jill Waller, the JDRF development coordinator for the Greater New York Metro Chapter. The Kirbys' other son, Jason, is a freshman football player at DHS.

Parents Jim Kirby and Beth Hantman, the parent of Hazel who also has Type 1 Diabetes, spoke to the players earlier in the month about the challenges of the disease.

"This is a favorite event for both players and coaches," noted DHS football head coach Andy Grant in a news release. "The boys love the competition aspect but knowing that it’s to benefit a great cause makes it even more motivating, especially after hearing families affected by the disease speak to them about it. It’s been another way for us to not only help the community, but also to show the team how it feels to make a positive impact on the community."

Donations to JDRF are still being accepted for this event at this link. Any questions can be directed to darienbwfootball@gmail.com.