Lee Ducat, the Audubon founder of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, recently marked the semi-centennial of the organization on the podcast hosted by Virtua Health CEO Dennis Pullin, according to a staff report from the South Jersey Central Record.

On May 21, 1970, Ducat started one of the most successful nonprofit organizations dedicated to eliminating diabetes. And said that while she had no relevant experience, she “knew how to throw a cocktail party.”

“The bottom line is having my son become ill overnight drove me to find some way to make life better for him and for other young people with diabetes,” she said.

Ducat used her Lower Merion home as a gathering place for families and friends of patients with type 1 diabetes. She then offered them membership forms she had made at home, which led to the official creation of the JDRF.

Since then, the foundation has managed to raise over $2 billion to help fund diabetes research, which has led to better treatments and longer life expectancies. Now the group has over 100 chapters nationwide and abroad and its founder is enjoying her well-earned retirement.

Read more about Lee Ducat at the South Jersey Central Record by clicking here.

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