Our Story

In 1974, four years after JDRF was founded in the United States, a group of parents determined to find a cure for their children living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) came together and began JDRF Canada, launching the largest funder and advocate for T1D research in Canada.

Although the focus was and remains finding cures for type 1 diabetes; since then, JDRF has helped fund research that has led to innovation and evolution of treatments that improve the quality of life for people living with T1D.

Vision: A world without T1D

Mission: Improving lives today and tomorrow by accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications


Working Toward a World Without T1D

JDRF works every day to change the reality of this disease for millions of people—and to prevent anyone else from ever knowing it—by funding research, advocating for government support of research and new therapies, ensuring new therapies come to market and connecting and engaging the T1D community.

We must keep up the pace of funding so progress doesn’t slow or stop entirely, and we can turn type one into type none.


Our History

JDRF has led the search for a cure for T1D since our founding in the United States in 1970. T1D in this era was commonly called “juvenile diabetes” because it was frequently diagnosed in; and strongly associated with, young children. Thus, our organization began as the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Later, to emphasize exactly how we planned to end the disease, we added a word and became the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Today, we know that an equal number of children and adults are diagnosed every day—approximately 110 people per day. Thanks to better therapies, which JDRF funding has been instrumental in developing and making available – people with T1D live longer and stay healthier while they await a cure. So, a few years ago, we changed our name to JDRF.

This name change helps:

  • To remove the misconception that T1D is only a childhood disease
  • To acknowledge that nearly 85 percent of people living with the disease are over age 18
  • To reinforce our commitment to funding research that improves life for people at all ages and all stages of the disease

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