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Last summer, in Washington D.C., 200 children from all 50 states and Puerto Rico met in Washington D.c. to urge Congress to support and increase in diabetes research funding. As the Children's Congress wound down for another year, JDRF staff asked the delegates and their families to continue their relationships with the Members of Congress and, this past fall, made the same request to all families affect by diabetes.

The Promise to Remember Me campaign was started after the first Children's Congress in 1999. The goal was to get more JDRF volunteers involved in advocacy by meeting with their Members of Congress and capturing that meeting in a picture. "After Children's Congress '99, there was a real need for JDRF to create a grassroots initiative that allowed everyone to get involved, not just the children and families selected for Children's Congress. There was also a need to continue relationships with Members of Congress that were started during Children's Congress," explained Catherine Schelin, Manager of JDRf Grassroots Advocacy.

As the first Promise to Rember Me campaign started out, political experts told JDRF that if there were 50 meetings, they could consider it a success. By the end of the first campaign, there had been over 400 meetings involving 850 families. "It was hugely successful. We've had many Members of Congress tell JDRF volunteers since the campaign what an impact it had on them," Schelin said. JDRF would like to see that same success in this years Promise to Remember Me campaign, chaired by Pam Sagan of Minnesota, mother to Children's Congress 2001 delegate Piper Sagan.

Pam Sagan.

One amazing campaign story is of Sarah VanSickle of Massachusettes. She was suppose to meet her representative, John Tierney (D-MA), but was forced into the intensive care unit due to complications from her diabetes caused by a bad case of the flu. Instead of canceling, Rep. Tierney arranged to meet Sarah at the hospital. Sarah's mother, Laura later told JDRF, "Having representative Tierney come to the hospital was a wonderful surprise. We really wanted so much to talk to him and ask him to help support more diabetes funding." Well, it worked. Rep. Tierney, who knew about diabetes through his father (he had Type 2) and two Type 1 staffers, sent a letter to the National Institutes of Health asking that the Diabetes Research Working Group's recommendation for increased funding be allowed.

Sarah VanSickle and Rep.
John Tierney (D-MA)

Another campaign story comes from Jennifer Sherwood of Nebraska. She made several friendship pins as mementos during her meeting with Nebraska's senators and representatives. One of those friendship pins made it all the way to the White House and was given to former President Bill Clinton by one of Nebraska's representatives, Doug Bereuter. A few weeks later, Jennifer received a thank you not from the president for the pin.