Stores raised more than $36,000 in 45-days to help fight diabetes.
Smoker Friendly International, in conjunction with The Cigarette Store Corp., chose to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) as its primary charitable cause in 2011 by joining the “Walk to Cure Diabetes” through sneaker sales in its stores.
Having the best year ever, the stores alone raised $36,669 in a 45-day period. The two top selling stores were Smoker Friendly/Gasamat locations in Cheyenne, Wy., and Aurora, Colo., with each raising more than $2,000.
To raise money, stores sell paper sneakers for $1 each, or customers can round up their purchase to the nearest dollar for donation. By the end of the campaign the stores are wallpapered with paper sneakers.
Smoker Friendly continued its effort in Boulder, Colo., at its two day Annual Conference and Tobacco Festival through $11,500 in donations from other Smoker Friendly retailers and participating manufacturers; these dollars combined with additional donations throughout the year from The Cigarette Store Corp. elevate the total contribution to over $80,000 so far in 2011.
JDRF funding and leadership is associated with most major scientific breakthroughs in type 1 diabetes research to date. The Foundation remains a global leader in driving type 1 diabetes science forward by funding more type 1 research than any other charity. JDRF directed nearly $107 million to such research in FY2010, bringing its total research funding to more than $1.5 billion since its founding in 1970. To ensure that it supports science with the greatest potential to produce results as soon as possible, JDRF has established a research review process that involves leading scientists from around the world, as well as lay reviewers who either have type 1 diabetes themselves or have family members with the disease.
The number of children with type 1 diabetes is growing. Each year, more than 15,000 children and teenagers are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the U.S. That’s more than 40 per day. The vast majority of children diagnosed with any form of diabetes are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Smoker Friendly has participated in the “Walk to Cure Diabetes” since 2007 and is very grateful for the dedication of the stores and humbled by the charitable hearts of all who contributed.
