Two community diabetes nurses, Anwen Jones and Helen Saunders, are our Fundraisers of the Year after cycling 100 miles and raising over £13,000 for us.
Inspire Award - Fundraisers of the Year
Both Anwen and Helen were new to cycling, but felt they wanted to inspire their patients at Hywel Dda Health Board and raise awareness and funds for Diabetes UK Cymru. They did a challenging bike ride from Borth to Cardigan in June last year. It’s a winding, scenic route through countryside and they passed through every surgery they work at, to mark the work they do with patients living with diabetes.
Anwen said:
"It was a great surprise to receive this award following our success in raising £13500 for Diabetes UK last year. The local support and encouragement was astonishing with continued support with individuals joining us on the bike ride. The success of the bike ride was down to local community engagement and support. It was a truly amazing experience and I have a lot of happy memories from the ride and the support received from all the team at Diabetes UK Cymru."
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we're unable to hold a ceremony for Inspire awards winners this year. But our colleagues have been surprising the winners by doorstepping them (at distance) with flowers, or gifts and the certificates.
Anwen said:
“Many of the people we support are living with type 2 diabetes. Increasing their activity levels would make a difference to their health. Neither of us were cyclists so we found it a challenge. We hope that by taking on some or all of the route, people felt inspired to be more active and do more to manage their condition."
Anwen and Helen fundraised through a dinner and auction as well as online sites.
Diabetes prevalence
Wales has the highest prevalence of diabetes in the UK, with 7.6% of the population with the condition. In the Hywel Dda Health Board region this rises to 7.9%. 90% of people with diabetes have type 2.
You may be at risk of developing type 2 diabetes because of your family history, age or ethnic background. However, the biggest risk factor is living with obesity. As many as three in five cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented or delayed by being more active, eating well and maintaining a healthy weight.
We've got more information about preventing type 2 diabetes. And you can use our Know Your Risk tool to find out your risk of type 2 diabetes today.
