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Youngster travels to Washington to fight diabetes

Photo from DORI RIVERS

Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard poses with 11-year-old Jacob Rivers of Odessa at the Children’s Congress in June.

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By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR

cpastor@tampatrib.com

Published: July 8, 2009

ODESSA - Jacob Rivers went to Washington, D.C., two weeks ago for a chance to ask lawmakers to support diabetes research, but he never expected to wind up at the White House.

Jacob, who will be in sixth grade at Walker Middle in August, was one of 152 student delegates from the United States and five countries selected to attend the Children's Congress in Washington. The program, which the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation started a decade ago, raises awareness of Type 1 diabetes.

"It's a unique opportunity children have to meet with their leaders," said Jillian Lubarsky, a foundation spokeswoman.

Though the participants, ages 4 to 17, are too young to vote, the congress gives them access to important meetings and a chance to share their experiences with diabetes and push for more funding for research, Lubarsky said.

The children also hear from celebrities, who this year included Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, Sugar Ray Leonard and Mary Tyler Moore. It's nice for the students to see you can be an actor, singer, activist or athlete and be touched by diabetes, Lubarsky said.

More than 1,500 children applied to attend. Jacob, who was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 4, had to fill out an application and write a letter to U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, to qualify. Six other children from Florida, ranging from elementary to high school students, also attended.

"It was really cool," said Jacob, 11. "It helped me a lot."

He couldn't believe how many students he met with diabetes during the conference, but he knew they represented only a handful of youngsters dealing with it. It was interesting to hear their different experiences, he said.

Jacob's parents, Tim and Dori Rivers, are active in the Tampa Bay chapter of the juvenile diabetes foundation and accompanied him to Washington, taking turns as chaperone.

"We've been looking forward to this for so long, it's hard to believe we're here," Dori Rivers said from Washington.

Children's Congress kicked off with a banquet on June 22. The students expected to convene on Capitol Hill the next day and sing "Promise to Remember Me," a song about the conference's theme, but learned instead they had a last-minute addition to their schedule - a meeting with President Barack Obama.

Parents could not attend but watched a video afterward, Dori Rivers said.

Jacob got to shake Obama's hand.

"It was really cool that Jake got to do that," she said.

It didn't sink in until later that he had met the president.

"When you're doing it, you're not thinking about it," Jacob said. "A few minutes later, you're like, 'Wow, I actually did it.'"

From there, the delegates attended a luncheon where Jacob met Leonard. They heard from a panel of musicians, doctors and athletes about how diabetes has affected them, and Jacob was selected to ask a question.

He asked Minnesota Vikings player Jared Allen, who is not diabetic, why he started his fundraising walk team, the "Marching Mullets." Jacob led a walk and fundraiser at Hammond Elementary in April.

Allen told him he was inspired after reading a letter a friend received from a child with diabetes.

The rest of the trip brought Jacob to Congress.

The delegates sat in on testimony on June 24 before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Moore, Jonas and Leonard testified, as well as three students and a mother who has four children with diabetes.

Afterward, Jacob had a personal meeting with Bilirakis.

He told him how hard it is to live with diabetes. He has worn an insulin pump since kindergarten and monitors his blood sugar, taking breaks from sports when he needs to if he gets light-headed or cannot focus.

Children's Congress started in 1999 and has met every other year.

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (727) 451-2343.

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