Diabetes Scholars Foundation Announces 2012 Scholarship Recipients

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. and INDIANAPOLIS, June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Diabetes Scholars Foundation (Foundation) announced its 2012 college scholarship grantees. The recipients, all young adults with type 1 diabetes, hail from cities nationwide and demonstrate a drive to succeed without letting diabetes stand in their way.

Over the last five years, the Foundation has awarded more than $500,000 in college scholarships to young adults with type 1 diabetes.

This year's scholarship pool was enhanced in March by a donation of $100,000 from Lilly Diabetes to support the newly established Lilly Diabetes Tomorrow's Leaders Scholarships and the Foundation's mission to empower young adults with type 1 diabetes to live their lives to the fullest.

"We are so proud of all of our scholarship grantees," said Mary Podjasek, president, Diabetes Scholars Foundation. "Each recipient has demonstrated a passion for learning in addition to being pillars of their communities, all while effectively managing their type 1 diabetes. And, this year we are especially pleased to have the support of Lilly Diabetes who has helped send 21 more students with type 1 diabetes to college."

Foundation scholarships recognize students who are actively involved in the diabetes community, who have high academic performance, who participate in community and/or extra-curricular activities and who have demonstrated that they are successfully managing the challenges of living with diabetes. Recipients like Hannah, who will be studying pre-med at Cornell University, and Katie, who will be majoring in biology at Northwestern University are just a few of this year's standouts. A complete list is available on the Foundation's web site,
www.diabetesscholars.org/2012scholarships.pdf.

"Lilly Diabetes is truly inspired by these scholarship winners, and we are honored to support the Foundation as part of our ongoing commitment to improving the lives of people with diabetes," said Steve Sugino, vice president, Lilly Diabetes. "Each of these young adults faces unique challenges with type 1 diabetes, and as they head off to college this fall, we're proud to play a part in their academic journey."

In addition to the college scholarships, the Foundation also announced its grantees from a separate program that provides conference scholarships to families to attend the annual children with DIABETES® Friends for Life® conference in Orlando. This July, 18 families and seven young adults will have the chance to learn from the world's leading scientists and clinicians in diabetes, meet with thousands of other families just like them, and learn and share experiences with other families with children with type 1 diabetes. Ten of those Foundation family scholarships were made possible through the support from Lilly Diabetes.

For more information about the Foundation and its scholarship programs, visit www.diabetesscholars.org. Additional information about Lilly Diabetes' patient support programs can be found at www.lillydiabetes.com.

About the Diabetes Scholars Foundation

In 2004, a group of parents who have children with type 1 diabetes created the Diabetes Scholars Foundation. Their goal was to lessen the burden of diabetes through education and give those affected by it tools they need to cope with the disease. Headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Ill., it is the only foundation that funds college scholarships open to all students in the United States with type 1 diabetes. In the past five years, the Foundation has awarded over $500,000 in college scholarships and over 200 children with DIABETES Friends for Life conference scholarships. In 2012, the Foundation received over 600 college scholarship applications from 49 states. Information about the Foundation is available at www.diabetesscholars.org.

About Lilly Diabetes

Lilly has been a global leader in diabetes care since 1923, when we introduced the world's first commercial insulin. Today we work to meet the diverse needs of people with diabetes through research and collaboration, a broad and growing product portfolio and a continued commitment to providing real solutions–from medicines to support programs and more–to make lives better. For more information, visit www.lillydiabetes.com.

About Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY)

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers—through medicines and information—for some of the world's most urgent medical needs. Information about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com.

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