Yamaha Cares Tops $77,000 Mark In Fundraising For Children’s Hospital of Orange County
Buena Park, Calif. (PRWEB) February 25, 2015 -- For the seventh consecutive year, Yamaha Cares participated in the Southern California Half Marathon and 5K races to raise money for the Children’s Hospital of Orange County for Type 1 juvenile diabetes research.
In January, about two dozen Yamaha staff members and friends completed one of the two races and more than 100 individuals contributed donations, the highest number of participants since the program’s inception. The more than $17,000, thanks to matching funds from Yamaha Cares for each donation, raised this year brings the grand total of overall donations to just over $77,000. Children’s Hospital of Orange County is one of just a handful of research facilities in the U.S. trying to find a cure for Type 1 Juvenile diabetes.
The check was presented to Children’s Hospital of Orange County officials this week.
“When I started this fundraising tied in with the races, there was no way I could have imagined what a success it would evolve into,” said Dave Jewell, marketing communications manager, Yamaha Corporation of America. “Each year, more and more people get involved, whether it’s running in one of the races, pledging financial support or both. This year, it jumped to an even higher level in so many ways. And on top of the money that’s raised for such an important cause, everyone who participates does so with a true attitude of caring, which attests to the spirit of giving at Yamaha and beyond.”
Jewell began to raise funds and awareness for the hospital after doctors diagnosed his daughter, Katrina, with Type 1 juvenile diabetes in 2005. This year was not only a record-setter for the number of participants and monies raised; Katrina, now 22, completed the half marathon in an impressive 1:38:53, shattering her previous personal best by eight minutes.
Having graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz where she majored in molecular, cellular and developmental microbiology, Katrina is pursuing a career as a physician’s assistant. In that pursuit of her further academic and professional goals, Katrina is interning at The Children’s Hospital of Orange County Diabetes Center.
“Her desire to give back and make a difference in the care, prevention and research of juvenile diabetes, as well as in the ongoing battle to find a cure, led to this yearly campaign with the races, which led to her interning at the center,” Katrina’s father explained. “It’s come full circle, and she’s able to bring a unique perspective for patients since she went through what they’re going through now.”
Another significant change this year was that Jewell created a CrowdRise campaign, KatrinaKures, to encourage online donations. Also, merchants from the area of California where Jewell lives and works, including the Corner Bakery in Anaheim Hills and the Olive Garden in Orange, donated the food for the post-race gathering, adding to the total funds that will be donated to the center. An informal group of friends from the LA Fitness where Jewell works out, known as “The Gym Ratz,” also contributed to the community spirit that marked the campaign this year.
The Children’s Hospital of Orange County Diabetes Center is the first pediatric diabetes program in Southern California to be recognized for meeting and maintaining American Diabetes Association (ADA) standards of care guidelines. It is also one of the largest screening sites for the National Institutes of Health-sponsored Diabetes Prevention Trial-1, which seeks to reveal causes of the disease, identify preventative measures and find a cure.
Yamaha Cares is an employee-based initiative dedicated to charitable works to promote education, arts, health and human services, and community development in the areas where its employees live and work, as well as to spread the gift of music to people throughout the U.S. For more information, visit http://4wrd.it/YAMAHACARES.
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About Yamaha
Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA) is one of the largest subsidiaries of Yamaha Corporation, Japan and offers a full line of award-winning musical instruments, sound reinforcement and home entertainment products to the U.S. market. Products include: Yamaha acoustic, digital and hybrid pianos, portable keyboards, guitars, acoustic and electronic drums, band and orchestral instruments, marching percussion products, synthesizers, professional digital and analog audio equipment, Steinberg recording products and Nexo commercial audio products, as well as AV receivers, amplifiers, Blu-ray/CD players, iPod docking systems, home-theater-in-a-box systems and its exclusive line of Digital Sound Projectors. YCA markets innovative, finely crafted technology and entertainment products and musical instruments targeted to the hobbyist, education, worship, professional music, installation and consumer markets.
Peter Giles, Giles Communications, http://usa.yamaha.com, +1 (914) 798-7120, [email protected]
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