I am delighted and humbled to have New York Times best selling author Brenda Novak as a guest on my blog today talking about her cause, diabetes. To date, she’s raised $2.4 million through her annual online auctions, most of which has benefited the cure focused work of the Miami based Diabetes Research Institute. But Novak is changing her approach to fundraising for 2015. She’s published her very first cookbook LOVE THAT! BRENDA NOVAK’S EVERY OCCASION COOKBOOK ($9.99 in digital and $24.99 in print). She’s also curated three limited edition digital box sets filled with brand new stories from some of today’s most popular authors. The proceeds from all three box sets and the cookbook will go to research.
For Novak, fundraising is a labor of love and a concentrated effort to find a cure for her son, who has lived with diabetes since he was five years old. The Diabetes Research Institute, a center of excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is a recognized world leader in cure focused research. Since its inception in the early 1970s, the DRI has made significant contributions to the field of diabetes research, pioneering many of the techniques used in islet transplantation.
Why is giving back so important to you?
I think it’s essential to living a fully balanced life. Running my charity has been a challenge at times, but it’s also been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.
Why is diabetes research such a passion of yours?
When my son was diagnosed at just five years old, and I learned the terrible side effects he’d likely face in his lifetime, I had to do something. I knew I could not stand idly by and watch him suffer. Not only that, but the statistics for diabetes are alarming. It’s becoming a bigger and bigger problem as time goes by.
You can check out more about Brenda’s work and purchase her cookbook and boxed sets at www.brendanovakforthecure.org
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