Taylor Made plays host to annual JDRF One Walk

Published 9:30 am Thursday, September 20, 2018

Taylor Made in Nicholasville partnered earlier this month with JDRF to bring its annual One Walk event to Jessamine County.

JDRF’s goal for this year was to raise $90,000 through the Lexington Walk to support the funding of clinical studies. The year’s event featured music, kid’s activities, type 1 diabetes vendors and a walking route within the landscape of Taylor Made Farm.

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Development Coordinator for JDRF Allison Perkins said all of the participants enjoyed the location and being able to walk through Taylor Made. The event ended up raising the organization over $60,000 towards its research efforts, Perkins said.

JDRF is a nonprofit organization which helps fund type 1 diabetes research. Since its founding in 1970, JDRF has awarded more than $1.8 billion to type 1 diabetes research.

This year marks the event’s 16th anniversary and first time being hosted in Jessamine County.

“There are so many misconceptions about type 1 diabetes,” Perkins said. “A majority of people do not know that type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease and there is nothing anyone can do to prevent getting it. There is also a common misconception that it only occurs in children, but we are seeing more and more adults being diagnosed with this form of diabetes. Also, individuals with type 1 don’t have to completely avoid eating sugar.  They are, however, insulin dependent and they do have to track their carbohydrates and take insulin to help their bodies process their food into energy.”

Participants who raised $100 or more received a JDRF Walk t-shirt. The event at Taylor Made Farm also featured an appearance by Taylor Made’s ‘Tucky Chrome miniature horse.

“This is a fun event for families,” Perkins said. “I think the horses enjoyed having us there too because during the walk, participants were able to witness a team of the foals and mares galloping up and down the field. Because of the unpredictable weather, I believe our attendance was down slightly this year.  But we still had around 400 participants come out to walk. We would certainly love to have the Bluegrass Walk at Taylor Made Farm again next year.”

For more information, please visit www.jdrf.org.