May 23, 2008

Two Diabetes Contests Encourage Creativity

Tara Dairman

Two contests that combine artistry, diabetes, and celebrity judges are aiming to increase diabetes awareness and inspire people to get creative. The Dancin' To Change Diabetes Contest is calling for video entries through June 1, while the Inspired by Diabetes Creative Expression Competition has just chosen its winners. Both contests will pay tribute to their winners in San Francisco during the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 68th Annual Scientific Sessions in June.

The Dancin' To Change Diabetes Contest, which is sponsored by Novo Nordisk, encourages people to submit old or new videos of "the cool moves that help them stay active and healthy." The contest was created to highlight the importance of exercising and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to prevent and control diabetes. Three finalists will be selected from the submissions by a panel including season 5 Dancing with the Stars champion Drew Lachey, who has diabetes in his family. The public will then vote online for a winner.

Submitting a video is free, and the contest is accepting submissions through June 1 (this coming Sunday). Online voting for the winner will be open from June 2 through June 5. The winning dance clip will be announced on June 7, and prizes for the top entries include a yearlong gym membership, a video game system that helps you stay active, and a sporting goods gift certificate.

You can read about the rules, submit a video online, or view the gallery of already-submitted videos—which feature everyone from toddlers to seniors showing their moves—at www.dancingtochangediabetes.com. And for more information about dancing with diabetes, check out the cover story from the current issue of Diabetes Self-Management magazine, "So You Think You Can't Dance?"

The Inspired by Diabetes Creative Expression Competition (which we discussed in the earlier blog entries "National Diabetes Month, Week 3: Around the World" and "What We're Reading: Inspired by Diabetes Contest") encouraged people affected by diabetes "to express their triumphs and challenges with diabetes through visual and written creative expressions." The competition, which was cosponsored by Eli Lilly and Company and the International Diabetes Federation's (IDF) Unite for Diabetes initiative, closed on March 31. The spokesperson and one of the judges for this contest is season 5 American Idol finalist Elliott Yamin, who has Type 1 diabetes.

Four grand prize winners have been chosen, including Theresa Garnero, a diabetes educator who invented a humorous game for kids with diabetes entitled "Pin The Pancreas On The Piggy." All of the winners will be honored at the ADA Scientific Sessions on June 8 and 9 of this year. And in honor of all participants, Lilly has donated $50,000 to the ADA to provide scholarships for children from low-income families to attend diabetes camps; the company will also donate money to IDF's Life for a Child Program, which provides supplies to children with diabetes in developing nations.

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