Royals Charities and Sun Life Financial raise $20,000 for American Diabetes Association through "Strikeout Diabetes" campaign

WELLESLEY, Mass., Oct. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Just before the start of the KC Royals v. Cleveland Indians game on Saturday, Sun Life Financial and Royals Charities presented the American Diabetes Association of Kansas City with $20,000 from the #StrikeoutDiabetes campaign. #StrikeoutDiabetes, a season-long fundraising campaign, raised $21 from Sun Life every time a Royals pitcher got a strikeout, representing that every 21 seconds, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with diabetes. The end-of-season goal was $20,000, which the Royals met easily thanks to a solid starting pitching rotation.

Starting pitcher Jakob Junis led with over 160 strikeouts this year, while Danny Duffy (June 9 at Oakland) and Jason Hammel (May 27 at Texas) both fanned 10 in a game this season.

Each year #StrikeoutDiabetes supports different Kansas City organizations that work to support, educate and raise awareness about diabetes, as well as improve people's health and wellness. The American Diabetes Association of Kansas City offers numerous community programs, including Camp Planet D, which helps children with diabetes forge sustainable relationships, overcome feelings of isolation, gain self-confidence and better manage their disease.

"With a strong presence in Kansas City, Sun Life is very committed to continuing to support the city's community programs," said Dan Fishbein, M.D., president of Sun Life Financial U.S. "The Royals are a great organization and share that commitment. We're excited to close out another successful #StrikeoutDiabetes campaign and look forward to working with the Royals again in 2019."

"We are extremely lucky to have support from the Royals and Sun Life, two organizations that show strong commitment to the Kansas City community and to helping people live healthier lives," said Charles Brown, executive director, Kansas City, for the American Diabetes Association. "It is support from organizations like this that enables us to continue raising awareness and educating the public about diabetes."

"Sun Life has been a great partner for Royals Charities' as a sponsor of the Royals team," said Marie Dispenza, Director of Royals Charities. "This year's Strikeout Diabetes campaign success is because of that strong partnership, a great strikeout record by Royals pitchers, and a strong community organization like the American Diabetes Association."

Sun Life also sponsors the Kansas City Royals' P.L.A.Y. (Promoting a Lifetime of Activity for Youth) Youth Clinic each spring, as well as the "Home Run to Health" program, which helps Kansas City children learn about fitness and nutrition, and awards them prizes after a four-week period of tracking their healthy living activities.

Sun Life's diabetes commitment also includes the Team Up Against Diabetes grant program, which supports community organizations around the country who support diabetes education, management, awareness, and health and wellness. To learn more, please visit www.sunlife.com/usdiabetes.  

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of insurance, wealth, and asset management solutions to individuals and corporate Clients. Sun Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Bermuda. As of June 30, 2018, Sun Life Financial had total assets under management of C$986 billion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial, Inc., trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE), and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

In the United States, Sun Life Financial is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 60,000 employers in small, medium, and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of products and services in the U.S. includes Disability and Absence Management, Life, Dental and Vision, Voluntary, and Stop-Loss insurance. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.

About Royals Charities

Created in 2001, Royals Charities, the charitable foundation of the Kansas City Royals, strives to support children, education, youth baseball/softball, and military families in and around the Kansas City area through financial grants. Under the leadership of the Glass family, Royals Charities has donated more than $14.8 million dollars in grants since its inception and in 2017 donated $2.3 million to 143 Kansas City area organizations. For more information visit www.royals.com/royalscharities.

About The American Diabetes Association

Nearly half of American adults have diabetes or prediabetes; more than 30 million adults and children have diabetes; and every 21 seconds, another individual is diagnosed with diabetes in the U.S. Founded in 1940, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) is the nation's leading voluntary health organization whose mission is to prevent and cure diabetes, and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. The ADA drives discovery by funding 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 works to safeguard policies and programs that protect people with diabetes. In addition, the ADA supports people living with diabetes, those at risk of developing diabetes, and the health care professionals who serve them through information and programs that can improve health outcomes and quality of life. For more information, please call the ADA 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 (@adakansascity), Twitter (@ADAKansasCity) and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn).

Media Contacts:

Devon Portney Fernald
Sun Life Financial
781-416-7151
[email protected]     

Amanda Turk
Kansas City Royals
816-504-4309
[email protected]

SOURCE Sun Life Financial