If you or someone you love in the Northland is living with Type 1 diabetes, you know it never takes a day off. This November, for Diabetes Awareness Month, our Northland community is coming together to support local children with Type 1 and their families. The Driving Diabetes Awareness campaign, run in partnership with Essentia Health Foundation, is built for neighbors like you.
Why This Matters in the Northland
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the body produces little or no insulin. Kids across the Northland manage their blood sugar every day through insulin, monitoring, food, and activity. There is currently no cure, but awareness and community support can make a meaningful difference for local children and families.What Northland Families Face Every Day
Managing Type 1 diabetes means insulin by injection or pump every single day, glucose checks or monitor alerts day and night, counting carbs for every meal and snack, and a plan for school, sports, sleepovers, and sick days. Dangerous lows can happen at any time, even overnight.It is not caused by diet or lifestyle, and it is not preventable today. About 314,000 kids and teens in the U.S. live with Type 1, and roughly 60 new diagnoses happen every day. For many families, the first sign is an emergency: about 4 in 10 kids arrive at the hospital in diabetic ketoacidosis, and a stay of around two days is common to stabilize and learn insulin.
The Costs Northland Families Don't See
- Supplies: Supplies alone run about $6,500 a year for kids, compared with about $445 for adults.
- Out-of-pocket costs: Families with private insurance pay an average of $823 a year out of pocket, and about 1 in 12 insured families spend over $5,000 a year.
- Travel: A family 150 miles from care, making four visits a year, drives 1,200 miles. At the 2025 IRS mileage rate of 70 cents, that is $840 in mileage alone, before meals, lodging, and time off work.
- Work: In one U.S. study, many parents of young children with Type 1 stopped or cut back work.
Why Care Close to Home Matters in the Northland
Distance is a real barrier in a region as spread out as ours. Rural kids with diabetes on Medicaid drive an average of 72 minutes to a pediatric endocrinologist, compared with 18 minutes for urban kids. The Essentia Health clinic in Duluth serves about 960 patients a year, with families coming from Fargo, Brainerd, Hinckley, the Upper Peninsula, Bayfield, Ashland, and northwest Wisconsin. St. Cloud has no clinic listed in the state directory, and the Twin Cities are about 150 miles from Duluth each way. Without Duluth, Northland families would face far longer trips for the same care.Dollars raised go to the pediatric endocrinology fund at Essentia Health Foundation. The fund can offset costs for families in need, help with device or medication costs, let the department buy items it can give patients (like food scales), provide monitors that let school nurses see students' glucose levels, and help expand services and care. Every vehicle sold in November helps keep this care close to home.
Did You Know?
- November 14 is World Diabetes Day. People around the world come together to raise diabetes awareness.
- Insulin is more than 100 years old. It was first used to treat a person with diabetes in 1922, transforming Type 1 care.
- Technology helps. Continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps can help people with Type 1 manage blood sugar throughout the day.
Northland Dealerships Driving Change Together
Local Northland dealerships are joining forces this November. Through participating vehicle sales, each dealership will make a financial contribution to the campaign in partnership with Essentia Health Foundation. Three well-known Twin Ports dealerships are taking part, and each has its own roots in our community. Buying your next vehicle locally can help a Northland family.
Meet the Participating Dealerships
- Northstar Ford (Duluth): Northstar Ford has served the Twin Ports since 1993 and is located at 1420 Miller Trunk Highway, near the Miller Hill Mall. It offers new and used Ford vehicles along with service and parts.
- Northland Chevrolet (Superior, WI): Located at 1420 Ogden Avenue in Superior, Northland Chevrolet offers new and certified pre-owned Chevrolet vehicles, financing, and a full-service garage. It serves drivers across the Duluth-Superior area.
- Kia of Duluth: Kia of Duluth has called Lincoln Park home since bringing Kia to Duluth in 2001. It describes having the largest inventory of new and certified pre-owned Kia vehicles north of the Twin Cities, and it supports Northland causes such as Toys for Tots and Animal Allies Humane Society.
How the Partnership Works
When you buy a vehicle from a participating dealership during the campaign, that dealership makes a financial contribution to the campaign. The campaign site does not list a per-vehicle amount, so ask your dealership how its contribution works. Contributions go through Essentia Health Foundation to support local children with Type 1 diabetes and their families.
Where Your Support Goes, Right Here at Home
Donations to the pediatric diabetes fund help provide essential supplies, medical equipment, and assistance with travel, lodging, and meals when families need it most. Every dollar stays in our community, and one hundred percent of donations support the fund's purpose. None of it is used for salaries or administrative costs.Three Ways to Help
- Give supplies.
- Buy from a participating dealership.
- Donate directly through Essentia Health Foundation.
