Red Bank Girl Headed To Congress To Advocate For Diabetes Research

While some kids are spending their summers at the beach or hanging out with friends, Lila Emanuele will be spending part of hers trying to make new friends in high places -- in Congress.

Her goal? Helping to maintain federal funding for research into Type 1 diabetes.

The 11-year-old from Red Bank is headed to Washington, D.C., in two weeks to join 160 children from around the country as part of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s 2015 Children’s Congress, set for July 13-15.

The children, ages 4 to 17, representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia and international delegates traveling from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Israel, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, will be in Washington to tell their stories and, according to JDRF, to rally in support of both the U.S. Congress’ and the administration’s commitment to continued federal government funding for diabetes research.

Lila said she is excited about meeting her congressman.

“I am especially excited about getting to talk about Type 1 Diabetes with him,” she said in a news release. “I plan to talk about my life with Type 1 Diabetes so people understand what it’s really like. I am also happy because I’m going to meet new people my age who could end up being be my friends. I think it’s important to have JDRF Children’s Congress so that we can have new treatments and cures.”

Children’s Congress is the largest media and grassroots event held biennially in support of finding a cure for T1D. The event, which is held every other summer, will include congressional visits by the delegates and a congressional committee hearing, during which selected delegates and T1D celebrity advocates will testify on the need for continued funding for T1D research, according to the JDRF news release.

“These outstanding children and their families all understand, as I do as a father of a loved one with type 1 diabetes, that T1D tests us every day,” says Derek Rapp, JDRF president and CEO. “Children’s Congress gives all of us one voice to urge Congress to maintain its commitment to supporting research, which is essential to reducing the burden of this disease on us and on our country.”

Hear Lila speak about her experience below: