TD’s memorable gift continues to help diabetes research

Impacts of the ongoing research made possible by funding from TD Bank Group, will help kids dealing with type 2 diabetes.

Thanks to a memorable and meaningful gift from TD, type 2 diabetes (T2D) research continues to progress in Manitoba, including expanded consultation with Indigenous communities to help understand, prevent, and treat T2D.

In March of 2023, in collaboration with Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations, TD made an incredible $500,000 donation to the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba towards the research theme, Diabetes Research Envisioned and Accomplished in Manitoba Research (DREAM) at Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM).

“Ongoing research is incredibly important to enrich the lives of children and youth dealing with type 2 diabetes,” says Stefano Grande, President and CEO of Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.

“Thanks to TD, researchers will be able to engage with the community by screening at risk children, and work with them on an in-community mental health skills training intervention.”

Nearly 90% of children with T2D in Manitoba are of First Nations heritage. To better understand and support youth living with T2D, while making study participation more accessible for Indigenous families, researchers in Manitoba will be traveling to Island Lake Anisininew Nation communities; St. Theresa Point, and Garden Hill Anisininew Nation, from February 26 to March 1, 2024.

A full team including Tanya McDougall, an Anisininew Nations scholar; Lionel Mason, an Elder and Knowledge-Sharer from Anisininew Nations; Dr. Chukwudumebi Onyiuke, of the Four Arrows Regional Health Authority’s research and data unit; teams from the iCARE and Next Generation diabetes research studies; and many community members will work collaboratively on this outreach trip.

Dedicated teams from the Next Generation and iCARE studies will screen at risk participants for diabetes and kidney disease, and host two community feasts to share study updates with participants and community members across the Island Lake Anisininew Nation communities.

The iCARE project was launched in 2011 with a primary focus on biopsychosocial factors to help understand why young people with T2D are at risk of developing kidney damage. And the Next Generation study focuses on understanding the risk for type 2 diabetes and kidney disease in children born to mothers with T2D and gestational diabetes.

T2D is the fastest growing pediatric chronic disease in Canada and support to the DREAM program through TD’s grant is making a meaningful impact to help kids in our community.