State Honoree

Alexa Brenner, 12, of Gig Harbor, Washington, a seventh-grader at Annie Wright School in Tacoma, has been dedicating much of her life over the past six years to increasing public awareness about juvenile diabetes and raising money to find a cure. Alexa, who was diagnosed with the disease when she was a baby, told her parents when she was in first grade that she wanted to form a team to walk in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation annual "Walk for a Cure." "I wanted to let people know what living with diabetes means and why money is so important to finding a cure," she said. She recruited walkers to join "Alexa's Athletes," wrote letters soliciting donations, spoke to school and community groups, and sold pins and bracelets. Over the years, Alexa's fund-raising team has grown from 15 to more than 50 members, and has raised more than $50,000 for diabetes research. In addition, Alexa visits newly diagnosed children and their families at a local children's hospital. "I want the kids to see through me that diabetes won't stand in the way of a normal life," she explained. Alexa also has traveled to Washington, D.C., to urge her congressional representatives to continue research funding. "As much as I hate this disease, I try to be optimistic that research will find a cure in my lifetime," she said. "We have had so much progress, and we cannot afford to stop now."