Vikings raise money for diabetes research

March 3, 2006

Sometimes it's more than the final score that counts. On Nov. 27, the Cleveland State University women's basketball team lost to the University of Connecticut, 85-51. However, despite losing the game, the Vikings scored a major victory, playing in front of a record crowd of 2,948 and raising $2,174 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

CSU head coach Kate Peterson spearheaded the campaign by donating $1 for every person in attendance (until the previous record of 2,173 was broken). Fans were also challenged to make their own contributions to help in the fight against diabetes.

The check was presented by Peterson and CSU freshman guard Natalie Miller during the men's game against John Carroll University Dec. 22. Miller, a diabetes sufferer, was the inspiration for the campaign.

"There are a lot of obstacles for the average high school athlete to overcome to be a Division I athlete, but Natalie's quest also included having to fight through a serious disease," Peterson said. "As tough as it has been, she's never let it get in the way of her dreams.

Miller's determination and the efforts of the CSU team earned them recognition in the Feb. 28 issue of the NCAA News, available online at www.ncaa.org.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF) is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 diabetes research worldwide. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Type 1 diabetes is a disease which strikes in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, but lasts a lifetime. JDRF provided more than $98 million to diabetes research in the 2005 fiscal year, and is responsible for more than $900 million in direct funding since it was founded.

Information provided by Cleveland State Sports Information.