The Palmetto Chapter JDRF

The Palmetto Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation was founded as an all-volunteer organization in 1990 in Columbia, South Carolina. It remained completely volunteer-driven with no staff until 1996, when Gail Ginsberg was hired as its first Executive Director.

An initial meeting was held on January 30, 1990 at the home of Dianne and Terry Barnes. The first organizational group was made up primarily of parents of children with Type I diabetes. Pat Reid, Regional Director of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF) from Atlanta was the speaker. She returned for the next meeting on February 20, 1990 to assist in the organization of the chapter.

A decision had to be made as to whether to form a formal chapter or simply a guild, which would raise money and simply give the proceeds from events to JDF. It was decided to form an official chapter, and the first order of business was to establish a Board of Directors, an Honorary Board of Directors (from successful business leaders in the community), a Local Medical Advisory Board, and a slate of officers. Many of the original Board members remain very active until the present time.

For the first several years, chapter meetings were initially held at Shandon United Methodist Church. However, one of the first orders of business was to locate office space for our chapter. Attorney B. J. Cobb was very helpful in securing free office space from The Trapp Agency for us to make our home at 3608 Landmark Drive in Columbia, SC. The Trapp Agency generously furnished this space to us at no charge for seven years. Although the chapter now pays rent, the offices are still located in the same building to this day.

The first fundraising event for the Palmetto Chapter was the Palmetto Walk Against Diabetes held on Sunday, October 28, 1990 at Sesquicentennial State Park. Sesqui is a beautiful setting, especially in the Fall, and provided the perfect location for a nice leisurely 10K walk. The goal for our chapter’s first walk was set by National JDF at $10,000. However, thanks to the first Walk Chairman, Colleen Rush, and the hard work of the members of the chapter and their friends and families, they were ecstatic to actually raise $23,000! Most recently the Palmetto Walk to Cure Diabetes has been held at Carolina Research Park where the Chapter raised $630,000 in 2007 for diabetes research.

Another great fundraising event, the Palmetto Chapter’s first Wings of Love Gala, was held on Saturday evening, March 21, 1998, at the Capital City Club in Columbia. Talk show host Leeza Gibbons was the Guest of Honor at the event, which included an elegant six-course seated dinner created by six of Columbia’s most prominent chefs and coordinated by Governor’s Mansion Chef Bruce Sacino. A live auction was also held, and the event was very successful. Subsequent Gala’s have been successful in raising money for the cure with 2007’s Wings of Gala raising close to $400,000.

Honda Cars of Columbia and the Palmetto Chapter teamed up for their first annual Honda Cars of Columbia Golf Classic on Tuesday, April 17, 2001 at WoodCreek Farms Country Club. USC’s Assistant Head Football Coach, Skip Holtz, was the Celebrity Chairman for the Golf Classic. The golf classic was a huge success raising over $33,000 for diabetes research.

Today, as the Palmetto Chapter’s fundraising efforts gross over a million dollars annually we have been able to expand our focus to include outreach and education serving the Midlands, Pee Dee and as of 2007 the Low Country of South Carolina. Outreach support such as the 2008 Back to School Event and development of grassroots advocacy would not have been as successful without the dedication of the Chapter’s 2008 USC interns. The chapter is currently staffed by three full-time employees and supported by the generous volunteer efforts of a Walk Committee, Gala Committee, and Board of Directors.