July 25th marked the second day of the 2017 JDRF Children's Congress. The morning started bright and early with the Corporate Partner Breakfast, where we heard from actor Mr. Austin Basis, JDRF President & CEO, Derek Rapp, JDRF Chief Mission Officer, Dr. Aaron Kowalski, JDRF 2017 Children's Congress Chair, Ms. Angie Platt, and Children's Congress Delegate Ms. Nikhita Gopisetty. Mr. Rapp presented a JDRF update and highlighted the new and growing JDRF T1D Fund, Dr. Kowalski spoke of recent T1D advances, and Ms. Gopisetty ended with a very compelling perspective on JDRF and T1D as a patient. As the speakers did, we thank the organizations who sponsored the Children's Congress event, including Novo Nordisk, Lilly Diabetes, Merck, Genentech, and PhRMA.

The Town Hall followed the Corporate Partner Breakfast, where a panel of Type 1 role models answered the Delegates' questions about living with diabetes in the workforce. The panel consisted of CNN digital correspondent Cristina Alesci, actor Austin Basis, actress Brec Bassinger, NHL hockey player Max Domi, Indy car driver Charlie Kimball, Dr. Aaron Kowalski, actor Paul Sparks, and professional baseball player Cory Vaughn. The Delegates' questions ranged from "Have you ever gone low while on television?" to "Who's the coolest celebrity that you have a selfie with?" The Delegates were excited to see such successful people share familiar feelings and experiences; we were especially moved by Dr. Kowalski’s discussion about his diagnosis, following his brother’s many years earlier, and how the second “sibling” tried to make his family feel better about this troubling time.

During lunch on Tuesday, Children's Congress Delegates and guardians listened to more from Dr.  Kowalski who spoke about the progress made in T1D research and how critical the renewal of the Special Diabetes Program (SDP) is. He showed examples of diabetes technology from the past 30 years, and all of the Delegates could see how far we have come in convenience and accuracy so far. Many in the room remembered the early technology (such as it was) and could express how much the JDRF investments had meant in moving along progress. He discussed the difficulty with balancing happiness and health with T1D, which appeared to resonate with many of the Delegates and their families. After giving a thorough description of the SDP and how it funds NIH research to prevent and cure T1D, he called for action: "We cannot accept no here ... It's your money. These are your tax dollars." Dr. Kowalski also talked about our own Ms. Kelly Close and our July 21^st Consensus Conference, discussing the importance of CGM and how we must move beyond using A1c as the only metric to assess outcomes for new therapies. He also gave a shout-out to Coco Close who gave a speech earlier in the conference during “Chalk Talks” about diabetes as “a family affair” and the crucial role that siblings often play with other siblings with diabetes or parents.

After lunch came a Delegate Social, where Delegates were given the opportunity to get to know each other and interact with T1D role models. Long lines filled the ballroom as Delegates waited to snap pictures with their favorite celebrities. Many Delegates connected during this event, which contributed to the start of what looked to be many great friendships between and among delegates.

The Blitz Training Sessions ended the day, where Delegates and families trained for the big political ask on Wednesday. The first priority was the renewed of the SDP at the current funding level of $150 million per year. Then, Delegates were to advocate for continued funding of the NIH and FDA, and affirm JDRF’s principles amidst health care reform debates on Capitol Hill. Specifically, the principles included:

1. People should not be denied coverage or charged high premiums for pre-existing conditions;
2. Children should have the ability to stay on parents’ insurance until age 26;
3. Essential health benefits should be able to be easily renewed; and
4. The donut hole in Medicare Part D should be closed.

Clearly, JDRF gave the Delegates a huge task and huge opportunity –  these trainings left the Delegates both excited and nervous in anticipation for their meetings the next day! Stay tuned for our next piece …

Divya Gopisetty, Nikhita Gopisetty, and Coco Close contributed to this piece.