Do the Big Blue Test and Change The World of a Person with Diabetes

BERKELEY, Calif., Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- People with diabetes will help change the lives for others with diabetes in need as they do something in unison -- exercise. Every time someone participates in the Big Blue Test and shares the experience on BigBlueTest.org, a donation of life-saving supplies will be made on their behalf to someone with diabetes in need.

The Big Blue Test, a diabetes awareness program started by the nonprofit Diabetes Hands Foundation, takes place every November leading up to World Diabetes Day on Nov. 14. The campaign reinforces the importance of exercise in managing diabetes. People with diabetes are encouraged to do the Big Blue Test any day between November 1 and November 14 at midnight Pacific Time, by testing their blood sugar, getting active, testing again, and sharing the results online at bigbluetest.org.

The website aggregates all of the data collected live. In the last two years, just 14 minutes of exercise decreased participants' blood sugar level between 15 and 20 percent.

In 2010, more than 2,000 people did the Big Blue Test. Over 120,000 people watched the Big Blue Test video. Roche Diabetes Care, makers of ACCU-CHEK® diabetes products and services, funded the production of the video and helped it go viral by donating 75 cents for each of the first 100,000 views, resulting in total donation of $75,000. The donation provided insulin and supplies to more than 2,000 people with diabetes in developing countries.

This year, in connection with the number of people that do the Big Blue Test, another donation from Roche Diabetes Care will benefit more than 8,000 people with diabetes in need. Five nonprofit organizations focused on helping underserved areas with a high incidence of diabetes in the United States will each receive $10,000, while $25,000 will go to support the work in Latin America by the International Diabetes Federation's Life for a Child Programme.

"Exercise to help you - and help someone who really needs it get life-saving diabetes supplies," said Manny Hernandez, President of the Diabetes Hands Foundation. "And join us in spreading the word so we can help 7,999 more!"  

One of the recipients of the Big Blue Test grants will be Moundville Medical Clinic in Alabama. The clinic provides health services to underserved populations in rural Hale County, Alabama. In Hale County, the prevalence of diabetes runs high, while residents also face illiteracy, significant financial hardship, lack of transportation, and destruction left by 2011's tornadoes.

"The Big Blue Test grant will enable us to provide free lab tests and individualized clinical pharmacy diabetes education and nutritional counseling to underserved people, including those impacted by the tornadoes," said Heather Whitley, PharmD, BCPS, CDE, and director of the clinic's diabetes program.

Visit BigBlueTest.org before midnight Pacific Time, November 14, 2011 to do the Big Blue Test, share the experience and help us touch the lives of 8,000 people with diabetes in need.

About the Big Blue Test

The Big Blue Test started in 2009 as a creative way to encourage people with diabetes to stay active. It has grown into a global, viral campaign to raise awareness about the benefits of exercise for people with diabetes and help support diabetes charities in the process. It is a program organized by the Diabetes Hands Foundation, in collaboration with DiabetesDaily.com, DiabetesStories.com and the Psychology and Educational Sciences Department of the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

The 5 nonprofits that will benefit from $50,000 in Big Blue Test grants in the United States in 2011 are: LIFT For Teens/Walk and Play For Wellness in San Rafael, CA; Moundville Medical Clinic, near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, c/o Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy; Pecos Valley Medical Center, Inc. Pecos NM; St. Anthony Medical Clinic, St. Anthony Foundation in San Francisco, CA and University of Colorado Denver.

About World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day is celebrated on 14 November, a date chosen to mark the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, one of the pioneers in diabetes research. It was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the alarming rise in diabetes around the world. In 2007, the United Nations marked the Day for the first time with the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution in December 2006, which made the existing World Diabetes Day an official United Nations World Health Day. World Diabetes Day is represented by the blue circle logo -- the global symbol of diabetes.

About Roche Diabetes Care

Roche Diabetes Care is a pioneer in the development of blood glucose monitoring systems and a global leader for diabetes management systems and services. For more than 30 years, Roche has been committed to helping people with diabetes live lives that are as normal and active as possible and has been helping healthcare professionals manage their patients' condition in an optimal way. Today, the ACCU-CHEK portfolio offers people with diabetes and healthcare professionals innovative products, services and comprehensive solutions for convenient, efficient and effective diabetes management -- from blood glucose monitoring through information management to insulin delivery. The ACCU-CHEK brand encompasses blood glucose meters, infusion pumps, lancing and data management systems. For more information, please visit accu-chek.com.

About Auburn University

Auburn University has provided instruction, research and outreach to benefit the state and nation for more than 155 years, and is among a distinctive group of universities designated as Land, Sea, and Space Grant institutions. Auburn makes a nearly $5 billion economic contribution to the state each year, has more than 250,000 graduates and provides 140 degree programs to more than 25,000 graduate and undergraduate students.

Contact
Manny Hernandez
President, Diabetes Hands Foundation
[email protected]
650-283-4862

Heather P. Whitley, PharmD, BCPS, CDE
Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy
[email protected]
205-348-1333

SOURCE Diabetes Hands Foundation