Joanne Thompson

Joanne Thompson is the loving mother of Adam Roose, age 24, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) on January 8, 1998 at age 8. Everyone reacts to a new diagnosis of T1D differently; some people are so shocked at the news that they retreat into their families and close friends, while others fold it into their lives and just move on. Joanne became so overwhelmed by the turn in her family’s life that she felt immobilized. She soon realized that she needed to get involved in helping cure T1D and became a tireless volunteer for JDRF.

Joanne started volunteering soon after meeting Nancy Jones, who was a breath of fresh air. Nancy gave Joanne a realistic view of life with T1D and told her all about JDRF. Joanne initially starting volunteering in the JDRF office to stuff envelopes and then became involved with the auction for the Gala. She is a past co-chair of the Gala Committee and still serves as a member. In 2006, Joanne joined the Board of the New England Chapter and she currently serves on the Outreach Committee and as a Bag of Hope volunteer. She provides hope to families at all ages and stages of T1D and is also the Northeast Regional Outreach Chair, assisting other Chapters with growing their Outreach programs. Joanne’s commitment to JDRF also expands into the Walk, as she is involved in mentoring Team Captains and Walkers in the Boston Walk. Team Sudbury, a top Town Team that Joanne helped to build, now has over 100 Walkers and raised more than $58,000 for JDRF’s mission last year.

Joanne believes that the core of JDRF’s amazing fundraising ability comes from the passion of the parents of children with T1D. She has been working to find a cure for 15 years and will remain steadfast in her support of JDRF, because as she says, her son does not have the choice to take a break or give up on his T1D. He motivates her to keep working until we achieve a world without T1D.