American Diabetes Association® Joins National Football League Players Association as a 2017 Strategic Charity Partner

ARLINGTON, Va., March 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Building on the 2016 launch of Team Tackle—an initiative bringing together current and former professional football players to raise awareness about diabetes—the American Diabetes Association (Association) has been named a 2017 Strategic Charity Partner of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). The partnership will focus on the prevention and management of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, and will support all people affected by diabetes. The partnership will extend the Association's mission work through education, resources and programs targeting populations most at-risk of developing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Eighty-six million Americans have prediabetes, and ninety percent of Americans with prediabetes do not even know they have it. In addition, African Americans and Hispanics are almost twice as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites to develop type 2 diabetes. The Association and the NFLPA are joining forces to address these staggering statistics.

This new Strategic Charity Partnership focuses on raising awareness specifically for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes risk factors, particularly in minority communities. Elements of the partnership include collaborating on on-going prevention education campaigns, engaging Team Tackle in the Association's community events, Association participation in NFLPA's Health Awareness Month and providing on-going diabetes education to NFLPA members.

In 2016, the Association launched Team Tackle by bringing 34 active and retired professional football players to Washington, D.C. for the Association's Capitol Hill Advocacy Day. Players joined more than 100 diabetes advocates from across the nation to meet with members of Congress and urge them to increase funding for diabetes research, prevention and treatment.  Team Tackle, now in its second year with the Association, continues to work to bring more heightened awareness and education information to people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

"We are excited to join the NFLPA as a 2017 Strategic Charity Partner and are excited to further the Association's mission to raise our collective voices to stop the diabetes epidemic," said Kevin L. Hagan, CEO of the Association. "By uniting with the NFLPA and Team Tackle, we'll continue our important work to raise awareness and urgency of prediabetes and diabetes; to champion additional research; to push for fair treatment and total wellness for all people living with diabetes; and to provide hope for the millions of individuals and families who are managing diabetes or are at risk of developing diabetes."

"Diabetes is an issue that is particularly close to the hearts of our members," said NFLPA's Senior Director of Player Affairs Don Davis. "Not only is diabetes such a critical health issue for all Americans, but the communities that make up the majority of our membership tend to be at a higher risk of developing diabetes."

The partnership launches with Team Tackle's participation in the Association's Diabetes Alert Day on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. On Diabetes Alert Day, the Association promotes awareness of diabetes and prediabetes, and encourages individuals to know their risk by taking the Type 2 Diabetes Risk Test. The NFLPA will also support Team Tackle's participation with hundreds of diabetes advocates on Capitol Hill at this year's Call to Congress on Thursday, March 30, 2017.

To learn more about the Association, the NFLPA partnership and Team Tackle, visit diabetes.org/teamtackle.

About the American Diabetes Association
More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, and every 23 seconds another person is diagnosed with diabetes. The American Diabetes Association (Association) is the global authority on diabetes and since 1940 has been committed to its mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. To tackle this global public health crisis, the Association drives discovery in research to treat, manage and prevent all types of diabetes, as well as to search for cures; raises voice to the urgency of the diabetes epidemic; and provides support and advocacy for people living with diabetes, those at risk of developing diabetes and the health care professionals who serve them. For more information, please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit diabetes.org. Information from both of these sources is available in English and Spanish. Find us on Facebook (American Diabetes Association), Twitter (@AmDiabetesAssn) and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn). 

SOURCE American Diabetes Association

Related Links

http://www.diabetes.org