About

Dear Sir or Madam,

Welcome to the Tommy Joes-Jon Lowe Foundation, Inc. Since 2004, we have been holding a golf tournament to raise money and awareness to combat diabetes. After the incredible success of the tournament, a charitable foundation came to life. In our seventh year we were proud to become The TJ-JL Foundation, Inc., a 501(c) 3 tax entity. In addition, we have the honor to announce the Co-Ambassadors to our foundation for 2013: Billy Carlsen and Ryan O’Keefe, two amazing young boys diagnosed with diabetes. As a 501(c) 3 corporation and with Ambassadors Billy and Ryan, our mission will be able to reach a larger audience. We will be able to do our part moving closer to a cure. Your donation allows diabetes programs to continue to educate, assist and provide resources to local communities and across the nation.

Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes, which translates into over 8% of the population. With 18.8 million diagnosed cases of diabetes, that still leaves 7 million undiagnosed cases; as many as 3 million of those cases are type 1 diabetes. By 2030 diabetes is expected to affect as many as 552 million people worldwide. With a foundation such as ours, the hope is to start early education of the disease and help to find a cure.

In 2012, we continue our efforts to raise money and awareness to fight this disease. Without your continued support, there is no way any of this would be possible. Through the generous efforts of sponsors we have been able to donate over $100,000 to the American Diabetes Association and various national diabetes foundations. We have set a goal to raise $60,000 in 2012, by adding more fundraising events in addition to our annual golf classic.

The TJ-JL Foundation, Inc.
Jon Lowe, Alan Pohoryles, Chris Darby, James Calomiris, Dr. Harold Silverman, Kathleen Lively, Nicole Warburton

What we do / Who we are

We started having this tournament eight years ago with the intentions to raise money and raise awareness to combat diabetes. After incredible success we decided to create our own charitable foundation, and website, www.TJJLFoundation.com which allow us to voice our mission to a much larger audience. Given the epidemic proportions of diabetes, this country cannot afford to stop the promising research being done to prevent, treat and move us closer to a cure. Your donation enhances diabetes programs assisting communities by providing money for diabetes-specific research leading to better treatments for diabetes and its complications -- and moves us closer to a cure. Donations also provide the resources to help translate that science into practices to be used in local communities. These results have led to healthier lives for the people reached by these vital programs.

In 2012, we plan to continue our efforts to raise money and awareness to fight this horrible disease. There is no way we can combat this epidemic without your continued support. The Tommy Joe’s – Jon Lowe Foundation will maintain our vision to win the fight against diabetes.

About the American Diabetes Association

Founded in 1940, the American Diabetes Association’s mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. In 2009, the Association launched a movement to Stop Diabetes®. The movement will inspire and mobilize millions to take up the fight against this deadly disease.

Research

The Association has been funding innovative research to combat diabetes since 1955. In 2010, we funded more than $34 million in research at 125 leading research institutions throughout the country.

Information

The American Diabetes Association provides the public and health care professionals with the most up-to-date information to help take a stand against diabetes through our Center for Information and Community Support (1-800-DIABETES) and two web sites, www.diabetes.org and www.stopdiabetes.com, as well as via consumer and professional books and periodicals. The organization has offices in communities across the country and serves the public through a multitude of programs and activities including American Diabetes Association Expos in 11 markets, 55 sessions of Diabetes Camp each summer for kids with diabetes, and outreach to high-risk populations through its Por tu Familia, Live Empowered! and Native American initiatives.

Advocacy

The Association fights on behalf of the diabetes community to increase federal funding for diabetes research and programs, improve comprehensive health care and insurance coverage, and to end discrimination against people with diabetes.

Facts - General Diabetes Information

Diabetes is the name given to disorders in which the body has trouble regulating its levels of blood glucose, or blood sugar. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. T1D usually strikes in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood, and lasts a lifetime. Just to survive, people with T1D must take multiple injections of insulin daily or continually infuse insulin through a pump.

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which a person’s body still produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively. Type 2 is usually diagnosed in adulthood and does not always require insulin injections. However, increased obesity has led to a recent rise in cases of type 2 diabetes in children and young adults.

Taking insulin does not cure any type of diabetes, nor does it prevent the possibility of the disease’s devastating effects: kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, amputation, heart attack, stroke, and pregnancy complications.

The Scope of Diabetes

Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes (8.3 percent of the population):

Diagnosed: 18.8 million

Undiagnosed: 7 million

As many as three million Americans may have type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes currently affects 366 million people worldwide and is expected to affect 552 million by 2030.

In the U.S., a new case of diabetes is diagnosed every 30 seconds; more than 1.9 million people are diagnosed each year.

THE COST OF DIABETES

Diabetes is one of the costliest chronic diseases.

Type 1 diabetes accounts for $14.9 billion in health care costs in the U.S. each year, while all types of diabetes combine to account for $174 billion in annual costs

The annual cost for healthcare was $11,700 for each person with diabetes in the U.S. in 2009, compared to $4,400 for each person without diabetes.

Americans with diabetes incur medical expenses that are approximately 2.3 times higher than those incurred by Americans without diabetes.

The average annual medical costs of children and teens with diabetes in the U.S. is $9,000, compared to about $1,500 for those who don’t have diabetes.

The Harm Caused by Diabetes

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, non traumatic lower limb amputations, and new cases of blindness among adults in the United States.

Diabetes is a major cause of heart disease and stroke.

Poorly controlled diabetes before conception and during the first trimester of pregnancy among women with type 1 diabetes can cause major birth defects in 5% to 10% of pregnancies and spontaneous abortions in 15% to 20% of pregnancies. On the other hand, for a woman with pre-existing diabetes, optimizing blood glucose levels before and during early pregnancy can reduce the risk of birth defects in their infants.

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. The risk of death for people with diabetes is about double that of people of similar age without diabetes.