The Numbers
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes
1.84 million Americans impacted!
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 can affect youth and adults.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes
35.5 million Americans impacted!
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a metabolic disorder in which the body still produces insulin but becomes insulin resistant.
T2D can affect youth and adults.
Prediabetes
Type 1 Diabetes
Prediabetes
96 million American adults impacted!
Prediabetes means that your blood sugar level is higher than normal however not yet high enough to be classified as Type 2 diabetes.
Without intervention, prediabetes is likely to become Type 2 diabetes in 10 years or less.
Our Story
Our Mission
In 2016, the charitable nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, Muscatine Diabetes Project, was co-founded by Kim Seligman, who organized a volunteer advisory board to provide diabetes education programs, outreach activities, support groups, and to strengthen our partnerships with other community health agencies in the Muscatine County area. Kim has a career profile of over 30+ years in business, higher education and nonprofit sectors; and is a certified PreventT2 Lifestyle Coach and a Diabetes Paraprofessional 1.
Our purpose is to ensure that all people impacted by diabetes are empowered by knowledge, encouraged by action and supported by community!
We serve individuals managing their Type 1, Type 2 and prediabetes diagnosis.
Diagnosed Diabetes:
- 537 million world-wide
- 37.3 million Americans (Type 1 = 1.84 M; Type 2 = 35.5 M)
- 286,000 Iowans
Prediabetes:
- 96 million American adults
- In 2022, the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps identified Muscatine County with an adult obesity rank at 39%, and Iowa at 34%. source: https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/iowa/2022/rankings/muscatine/county/outcomes/overall/snapshot
Diabetes Advocacy Journey
Our early diabetes awareness partnership began when Kim and the Muscatine Running Club Race Director, Dell Wagner collaborated to form the Watermelon Stampede Against Diabetes (2005-2008) as a local event to bring awareness and fundraising.
With increasing diabetes awareness in the Quad Cities area growing, our relationship with JDRF Eastern Iowa Chapter formalized into Muscatine hosting 7 Walk to Cure Diabetes events from (2009-2015). Throughout 2005-2015 over $500K was raised for JDRF diabetes research that benefited many individuals living with diabetes.
There's joy in the journey as we walk alongside each other and the Muscatine Diabetes Project continues the awareness by hosting the annual walk event to celebrate people living with all types of diabetes. The fundraising from this event stays local.
Through Kim's steadfast passion and leadership, the diabetes advocacy journey that began from a tragedy in 2004 continues to shine brightly in helping prevent diabetes and improve outcomes. We invite you to join us on the advocacy journey and support people living with diabetes!