Former NY Yankee Honored at JDRF Gala

The Northern New Jersey and Rockland County Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is once again bringing its annual Dream Gala to Mahwah this year, and along with it former Yankee Rick Cerone.

This Saturday, the Sheraton on Route 17 will host the gala, which raises funds to ease life for those suffering from Type 1 diabetes, and their families, and works toward finding a cure.

Former NY Yankee and Met Cerone will be honored as the 2011 Man of the Year for all of his work raising awareness and funds about juvenile diabetes.

“It’s an honor to be named as the 2011 JDRF Man of the Year,” said Rick Cerone.

“This chapter has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and funds for diabetes research and I am thrilled that I am able to help them move toward their goal of curing diabetes,” said the catcher, who will accept his award in Mahwah this weekend.

The black-tie event, which is coming to Mahwah for the third consecutive year, is “a great thing,” said Fort Lee High School junior Ross Fasman, who was diagnosed with diabetes at age 12.

The Foundation “has been very comforting to me and my family by connecting us with other people who are going through life with diabetes, which can be far from easy,” the varsity baseball player said.

“The Gala gives us the opportunity to all get together to speak about our experiences, which I love doing.”

Last year, the gala, which includes a live band, dancing, dinner, an auction, and inspiring speeches, raised over $800,000 for the cause, and this year, the Foundation aims to surpass that amount.

“Mahwah is a great community, and we are happy to work with the Sheraton again,” said the Chapter’s Executive Director Doug Rouse.

Rouse said that some of the 250 items being auctioned this year include trip to the Caribbean and Dominican Republic, tickets to the US Open and box seats to see the Jets and Giants, TVs and other electronics, and a 10-week-old black lab.

“It’s an amazing event because so many of the people who come are not directly affected by diabetes,” said Jackie Shrekgast, whose 14-year-old daughter Emily was diagnosed six years ago.

The eighth-grader doesn’t let her diabetes hold her back – Emily is a competitive gymnast who holds a state title. However, her mother said that her family’s involvement with the Foundation and the Gala has helped them cope with the disease.

“It’s a great fundraiser and I am proud to be a part of it,” Shrekgast, a Mahwah resident who has been attending the Gala for six years and is now on the Gala Committee, said.

Rouse said attendees can look forward to contributing more to the $1.5B that the Foundation has donated to finding a cure since its inception in 1970. 

For those afflicted with the disease, it is the opportunity to be a part of something greater.

“There’s got to be a reason that I got this disease,” Fasman, who will be presenting Cerone with the “Man of the Year” award, said.

“By connecting with other kids who are going through what I did, and by talking with them about my experiences, I feel like I’m doing something really good.”