A young man is on a trek across Canada, and along the way is raising awareness and funds for diabetes.
Jeff Laybolt is more than midway through the Great Walk About. He left Dartmouth, Nova Scotia on March 1 of this year and on Wednesday, November 13 he arrived in Drumheller. His journey is to raise awareness and funds for diabetes research. Many generations of his family have been affected by diabetes.
The first leg of his journey he was partnered with Diabetes Canada and as of September 1, he announced he is now partnered with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), which is a leader in research to end Type 1 Diabetes, serving young people and adults.
While hiking across the country is a momentous challenge, the harsh climate of Canada hasn’t made it any easier. He has hiked through snowstorms, floods, heatwaves, and the howling prairie winds.
Along the way, he is doing his part to get out and talk to communities. After Drumheller, he took a couple of days off the route to go to Edmonton where he is attending a couple of diabetes-related events. After that, he is back on the road.
As tough as the first leg of his journey has been, crossing the Rockies in the winter is another challenge he is preparing for. He hopes to reach Victoria in January, depending on conditions.
Laybolt has set a goal of raising $10,000 on his journey and he has made good progress. To support his journey go to jdrfca.donordrive.com.
