Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Children with Diabetes and the Children with Diabetes Foundation. On July 18, 2002 the foundation will welcome hundreds of families, doctors and experts from around the nation and world to the 3rd Annual "Friend for Life'' National Children with Diabetes Conference in Pasadena, California.
Children with Diabetes, an online community for children, families, doctors and researchers, was founded by Mr. Jeff Hitchcock shortly after he learned that his young daughter had contracted Type I diabetes, often known as juvenile diabetes. At the time, Mr. Hitchcock, knowing little about diabetes, was ill prepared to help his daughter cope with its affects and demands. In order to help prevent this feeling of helplessness for himself and for other parents like him, Mr. Hitchcock launched the Children with Diabetes website.
Since 1995 the Children with Diabetes website has become a clearinghouse of information for juvenile diabetes. Children and their parents have access to information from physicians, dietary suggestions, treatment suggestions and a myriad of other services that have proved helpful to those living with the daily affects of diabetes. The site has also become a useful tool for physicians and researchers who now have the ability to share information about new treatments and cutting edge research from across the globe.
While Children with Diabetes continues to act as an informational resource for juvenile diabetes, the Children with Diabetes Foundation acts to assist people financially living with diabetes and supports physicians and researchers around the world who are working towards a cure. Each year, the Children with Diabetes Foundation raises and awards thousands of dollars in scholarships and grants to researchers who are moving closer to a cure each day and to families working hard to live with this disease.
That is why this week's national conference is so important. It will bring together people from around the world who are working, in their own way, to eradicate this disease. The conference will include speeches by Dr. Francine Kaufman, President of the American Diabetes Association, small group workshops, community forums, and appearances by Olympian Gary Hall and Miss America 1999 Nicole Johnson. The conference will culminate in the display of a quilt assembled by children suffering from diabetes.
I ask all Members to rise and join me in congratulating and thanking Children with Diabetes and the Children with Diabetes Foundation for all that they do to fight against the negative affects of diabetes, especially juvenile diabetes, throughout the world. I am sure that through their efforts, we will one day find a cure for this disease.