Healthier Living Raises Money for Diabetes Charities through Amylin’s “This Week I Will” Program

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, developer of the GLP-1 agonists Byetta and Bydureon (recently acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb), has pledged to donate $5 to a diabetes charity for each person with type 2 diabetes who pledges to adopt a new healthy habit for one week as part of the This Week I Will Program. The ultimate goal is to raise $25,000 apiece for four major diabetes charities: the American Diabetes Association, the Behavioral Diabetes Institute, Diabetes Sisters, and the Diabetes Hands Foundation – this $100,000 goal will require 20,000 pledges, and This Week I Will is already over halfway there. The pledges call for simple changes, as participants can promise to eat a healthy breakfast each morning for a week, learn what their A1c numbers mean, take the stairs instead of the elevator, go on a 30-minute walk four times during the week, use smaller plates at mealtime, or substitute fruit in place of dessert or candy, among other options. When a person makes their particular pledge, This Week I Will sends them an email with tips and advice to help them follow through with their promise. For more information and to make your own pledge, visit http://www.diabeticconnect.com/ThisWeekIWill/. –AW