Taylor Porter is a proud sponsor of the 17th Annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Louisiana Chapter's Hope for a Cure "Denim and Diamonds" Gala, scheduled for Friday, March 9, at 6:30 p.m., at L'Auberge Casino and Event Center. 

Taylor Porter associate Ashley Carver Meredith has volunteered on the JDRF Gala planning committee.

More than 500 guests are expected to attend this year’s Denim & Diamonds – Hope for a Cure Gala in support of JDRF, and proceeds from the event will go toward research focused on curing, preventing and treating Type 1 Diabetes. The event will be produced with the help of Hollingsworth Richards Ford, iHeart Media, Republic Finance, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, Sensible Portions, Baton Rouge Coca-Cola Bottling Company and various other supporters. JDRF Louisiana Chapter aims to raise $350,000 for critically needed type 1 diabetes research.

Robbie Gaiennie and Joseph Sterx will be presented with the JDRF Louisiana 2018 Honoree Award at the Gala. As the honorees, Robbie and Joseph will be recognized for their unwavering passion and commitment to JDRF’s mission to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat type 1 diabetes (T1D) and its complications. Robbie and Joseph volunteered to serve on the Louisiana Chapter Board of Directors in 2008 and founded the 501c3 Shreveport Diabetes Sports, Inc. in 2010. Robbie’s son, Robert was diagnosed at the age of nine and Robbie and Joseph have been a passionate supporters of JDRF since his diagnosis. Together, they have hosted annual golf and tennis tournaments in the Shreveport area and have raised nearly $500,000 to date for the Louisiana Chapter of JDRF.

The program’s emcees will be Bob Murphy and Jodi Carson of iHeart Media’s ‘Murphy, Sam and Jodi’ Show on 96.1 The River. The event will offer a lineup of live auction items, including a five night stay in Belize, a weekend getaway to New Orleans, a pair of diamond hoop earrings, a five-course dinner with wine pairing for 12 with Chef John Folse at White Oak Landing, and more. This year, the JDRF is raffling off a 2018 Ford Mustang donated by Hollingsworth Richards Ford. Tickets for this raffle are selling for $20 each and will be sold online at www.hopeforacuregala.com, in the chapter office as well Hollingsworth Richards Ford on Florida Boulevard. Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry has also donated a 14-carat amethyst and diamond ring, and JDRF will raffle off 100 tickets for $100 each. The winners for these raffles will be drawn at the gala and the winner does not need to be present to win.

The event will include JDRF’s signature Fund A Cure program, where 100 percent of tax-deductible contributions drive research for artificial pancreas technology, beta cell replacement therapies, and other critical JDRF research priorities; a celebrity guest performance by the Foto Sisters, along with entertainment by Ned Fasullo and The Fabulous Big Band Orchestra.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which a person's pancreas loses the ability to produce insulin—a hormone essential to turning food into energy. T1D strikes both children and adults suddenly and is unrelated to diet or lifestyle. It requires constant carbohydrate counting, blood-glucose testing, and lifelong dependence on injected insulin. With T1D there are no days off, and there is no cure. JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. JDRF has invested nearly $2 billion since our inception.