Oswego Business Supports Juvenile Diabetes Research

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More than 6,000 West Suburban Chicago residents will hit the pavement Sunday at St. James Farm in Warrenville for the annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundtation One Walk, the flagship fundraising event of the JDRF, whose mission is to find a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Among them will be Naperville resident Jeff Goodall and his family walk team, “Team Left Eye.” Jeff, a longtime Ford employee, was first diagnosed with T1D as a child and has since undergone multiple surgeries to his left eye.

Jeff and Team Left Eye will be participating for the twelfth consecutive year in the JDRF One Walk, and the support from loved ones has only increased. Back in 2003, Team Left Eye consisted of roughly 15 walkers and raised $3,900. This year, Team Left Eye expects to hit $8,000 in funds raised and will have more than 30 walkers represented at the Warrenville, IL One Walk.

To date, Jeff’s team has contributed more than $80,000 toward finding a cure. Jeff credits his friends, family and members of the local community for their generosity and ongoing support.

This rings especially true for his friend and colleague – and fellow type 1 diabetic – John Hennessy, owner of River View Ford in Oswego.

“Since John got involved in 2008, our annual contribution has more than doubled,” says Goodall. “He’s been incredibly generous – both personally and professionally – as a sponsor of our family walk team, and he’s always looking for ways to grow our fundraising capacity.”

Over the years, Hennessy has coordinated numerous fundraisers for Team Left Eye, including hockey matches, picnics and – this year – a successful golf outing that raised more than $3,000. But Hennessy’s commitment to JDRF runs much deeper.

In 2007, building off Ford’s longstanding commitment to JDRF, Hennessy, on behalf of the Ford Dealership Advertising Fund and the Chicagoland Ford Dealers, led the charge to bring the company’s national support to the local level by proposing the family walk team sponsorships. This program encourages dealers to financially sponsor walkers to help them achieve their fundraising goals.

Eight years later, the program has raised $311,105 for JDRF of Illinois.

“It’s easy to think that I support JDRF because I have type 1 diabetes,” says Hennessy. “But the truth is, when you look into the eyes of a parent whose child has just been diagnosed, you can see how desperate they are for answers and for a cure. That’s what JDRF is all about. We exist to educate parents, to give them hope, and to give 100 percent of our focus finding a cure.”

Ford has been a proud sponsor of the JDRF One Walk in Illinois (formerly the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes) for 13 years with contributions exceeding $1,000,000 since 2003.

“Typically it’s difficult to rally a bunch of dealerships around a single fundraising initiative,” says Hennessy. “But type 1 diabetes touches so many families and the resources that JDRF provide are so meaningful, it was an easy choice for the FDAF and the Chicagoland Ford Dealers. We are all so grateful to be a part of finding a cure to T1D.”

To participate in the walk, register for the event.