Students with Type 1 Diabetes Get a Boost from Lilly Diabetes to Attend College

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. and INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

News Highlights

• Does #T1D put college out of reach? @LillyDiabetes & @DiabetesScholars don't think so. Scholarship program now open

College freshmen face tremendous pressure, often trying to adjust to tough academic standards while living away from home for the first time. The stress of freshman year can be multiplied when the student is managing a chronic disease such as type 1 diabetes.

To help ease the burden, Lilly Diabetes today announced the fulfillment of its two-year, $200,000 commitment pledged in early 2014 to the Diabetes Scholars Foundation (Foundation) to fund the Lilly Diabetes Tomorrow's Leaders Scholarship. The award recognizes students who are actively involved in the diabetes community, have high academic performance, participate in community and/or extracurricular activities, and demonstrate they are successfully managing the challenges of living with diabetes.

"The Diabetes Scholars Foundation believes in empowering people living with type 1 diabetes through education. It is so rewarding to see these college students achieve their dreams," said Mary Podjasek, president, Diabetes Scholars Foundation. "We are proud to have the support of Lilly Diabetes. They are changing the lives of these young adults by helping them fulfill their dreams."

Since 2012, Lilly Diabetes has funded more than 60 scholarships to help high school graduates achieve their academic goals at universities across the country.

Scholarship recipients such as Kendall, a sophomore from Palatine, Illinois, now attending the University of Notre Dame, are chosen for their accomplishments and academic excellence. She says the financial support she received from the Foundation and Lilly Diabetes has helped her stay on the path to higher education and introduced her to a community of people with type 1 diabetes she wouldn't have otherwise met. Kendall hopes to graduate with a degree in science-business and work in healthcare administration.

Applications for Foundation scholarships are due April 15, 2015. Applicants must be U.S. high school seniors with type 1 diabetes seeking higher education at an accredited four-year university, college, technical or trade school. The Foundation has awarded almost $900,000 in college scholarships to young adults with type 1 diabetes since 2008.

"Helping young people with type 1 diabetes attend college and live life to the fullest is a responsibility we take very seriously," said Mike Mason, vice president, U.S., Lilly Diabetes. "Those who receive a Lilly Diabetes Tomorrow's Leaders Scholarship are remarkable examples of what is possible with dedication to health, academics and community. We could not be more proud to help the Foundation support these students as they work to make their dreams a reality."

In addition to college scholarships, Lilly Diabetes grants funds for families to attend the Children with Diabetes^® Friends for Life^® conference held annually in Orlando. Each year, eight to 10 families receive a scholarship, allowing them to learn from leading experts and share experiences with other families with children with type 1 diabetes.

Additional information and applications for Diabetes Scholars Foundation college and conference scholarships are available at www.diabetesscholars.org. Conference scholarship recipients are announced in May; college scholarship winners are announced in June.

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 empower people living with type 1 diabetes through education. 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 seven years, the Foundation has awarded almost $900,000 in college scholarships and has helped almost 3,000 people attend the annual Children with Diabetes® Friends for Life® conference in Orlando. In 2014, the Foundation received 2,600 college scholarship applications from 50 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 are building upon this heritage by working to meet the diverse needs of people with diabetes and those who care for them. Through research and collaboration, a broad and growing product portfolio and a continued determination to provide real solutions—from medicines to support programs and more—we strive to make life better for all those affected by diabetes around the world. For more information, visit www.lillydiabetes.com or follow us on Twitter: @LillyDiabetes.

About Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY)
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and http://newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels.

LD94287 01/2015 ©Lilly USA, LLC 2015. All rights reserved.

P-LLY

Refer to:
Julie Williams, Communications Manager, Lilly Diabetes, 317-627-4056 (mobile/text), [email protected]  
Mary Podjasek, President, Diabetes Scholars Foundation, 312-215-9861 (office), [email protected]

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SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company; Diabetes Scholars Foundation

Related Links

http://www.diabetesscholars.org