Making Strides Toward a Cure
Beisser Lumber serves as this year’s corporate sponsor for the JDRF One Walk.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s (JDRF) annual One Walk is proof that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. In the years since the organization has been hosting this fundraiser, the treatment options available to individuals with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) have changed dramatically.
This year’s corporate sponsor of the Des Moines One Walk, Beisser Lumber, has been participating in the event for about a decade, and Beisser employees have a personal investment in its success.
Beisser’s team, Kenley’s Crew, walks in honor of Kenley Irvin, whose uncle, Ben Richter, is Beisser’s VP/Sales Manager.
“Kenley was diagnosed when she was 4 years old,” Richter says, “and we didn’t have any idea how serious it was until her parents took her to the hospital because she was losing weight, urinating frequently, and starting to get tired easily, which is unusual for a 4-year-old.”
The family has no history of diabetes, so the diagnosis came as a shock. And the complications of dealing with the disease were overwhelming at first. Watching his family adjust to life with T1D drove Richter to find a way he could support Kenley, too.
“Beisser had participated in JDRF walks before, but not every year,” Richter says. “So I reached out to Tim Harmeyer to find out how we could get involved again.”
Harmeyer, Senior VP and CFO for Beisser, was diagnosed with T1D in his mid-20s, and he has organized teams for One Walk events in the past. He is also a past JDRF Board member and president.
“In some ways, I was fortunate to get the disease at 25,” Harmeyer says. “I was old enough to recognize the seriousness of the diagnosis. At first the doctors weren’t sure whether to treat me as a Type 1 or a Type 2 diabetic, and I ended up in the hospital for a week with a blood sugar of 750. But I had a normal life in high school and college and didn’t have to navigate the disease during those years.”
Harmeyer says the challenges facing children with the disease are often as much mental health issues as physical ones. “Kids don’t want to be different, so the more we can do to help them have a normal childhood, the better,” he says. “The JDRF has even started hosting speakers who address mental health issues related to T1D, and those are some of the most well-attended sessions they have.”
In addition to organizing its usual team of walkers for the 2024 One Walk, Beisser Lumber is serving as this year’s corporate sponsor. President Dave Ling is acting as the Corporate Walk Chair.
“The JDRF is great at educating and creating awareness, and there’s a lot of momentum around this disease,” says Ling. “The disease has no known cause and isn’t diet- or lifestyle-related like Type 2. But there’s been so much progress in the treatment of the disease and the technology available to make it easier to manage. And the fundraising from these walks and other JDRF events is a key part of that.”
In February, Beisser hosted a kick-off breakfast to share the mission of the JDRF with customers, suppliers, and friends. “We served breakfast, talked about the JDRF and its mission, then Kenley got up and spoke to the 50-plus attendees about what the JDRF has meant to her,” Richter says. “She did such a great job. She’s only 12, but she got up there and spoke and did it like a natural.”
“The walk is the second-largest fundraiser of the year for the JDRF, and the organization has built a lot of solid, long-term relationships with large sponsors,” says Ling. “We were honored to be able to work with JDRF for this year’s event.”
As event sponsors, Beisser is assisting with the JDRF to raise additional corporate sponsorships and lead activities on the day of the walk.
In addition to encouraging other companies to get involved, Beisser Lumber has agreed to match corporate sponsorships up to $20,000. This will surpass $100,000 in the company’s total contributions to JDRF over the years.
“We’ve participated as a team almost every year for the past decade,” says Richter, who also now serves on the Board of Directors for JDRF. “Even during COVID, we did a walk here at Beisser so we could still participate.”
Harmeyer says, “This disease is so prevalent, any company with 50 employees or more probably has an employee with T1D. This touches everyone.”
Thanks to the JDRF and events like the One Walk, advances in treatment and management make it possible for patients like Harmeyer and Kenley to participate in everyday activities that used to be potentially life-threatening.
Richter says, “Kenley’s parents can monitor her levels with their smartphones. She can go to sleepovers, go to camp, do all the things any other 12-year-old girl does.”
There may not be a cure for the disease yet, but the JDRF is making great strides forward. And that’s how thousand-mile journeys begin.