Beyond Type 2 in 2022: Global Growth + Community Empowerment
As we reflect on 2022, we are reminded of how grateful we are to serve and be a part of the amazing global diabetes community. This year was filled with critical advocacy and access initiatives, expanding our global community and working with phenomenal people to show the world that anything is possible with diabetes. Our team at Beyond Type 2 couldn’t have done it without the support of our diabetes community, leadership and partners.
Here are just some of the highlights from 2022:
We welcomed Deborah Dugan as our new CEO. Deborah is known for her success as CEO of (RED), the not-for-profit organization founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver to raise awareness in the fight against AIDS. Under her leadership, we’ve been working to scale our programs, fundraising efforts and campaigns to further help people with diabetes survive then thrive, with a focus on where we’re needed the most.
GetInsulin.org won an Anthem Award! Brought to you by The Webby Awards, the Anthem Awards honors the purpose and mission-driven work of people, companies and organizations worldwide. As we work for long-term solutions, we created GetInsulin.org to help navigate our broken drug pricing system to access insulin right now. Since its creation, over 500 million people have visited GetInsulin.org, and today the site helps thousands of people each month access the lowest-cost insulin available to them through patient assistance programs and copay cards.
We partnered with Civica Rx, which aims to manufacture and distribute lower-cost insulin beginning in 2024. A non-profit, the organization is developing biosimilar rapid-acting and long-acting insulin for no more than $30 per vial and $55 per box of five pens, regardless of insurance status. This work builds on our belief that insulin must be available at a predictable and accessible price point for all who require it across all types of diabetes.
Beyond Type 1 & Beyond Type 2 led the conversation around mental health, providing critical resources for the diabetes community. We launched a mental health portal as part of our campaign for Mental Health Awareness Month in May and furthered the conversation around World Mental Health Day in October with the #MenTalkHealth campaign, which encouraged conversations from men, to men. The campaign garnered coverage in Men’s Health Magazine, earned more than 5,000 social engagements and 1 million potential impressions, and highlighted our first-ever 10-minute docu-short.
We expanded Beyond Type 2 in French, German + Italian to provide diabetes resources and to share personal stories for and from the French, German and Italian-speaking type 2 diabetes communities. The multi-language—beyond the existing English and Spanish—expansion of Beyond Type 2 helps ensure our commitment to all people impacted by diabetes—regardless of their location or language—and adds to our Beyond Type 1 communities spanning eight languages.
We expanded our virtual community events in English and Spanish, hosting monthly Community Tables with JDRF and the American Diabetes Association and monthly Spanish-language educational summits with JDRF. Through the ADA x Beyond Type 1 Collab and the JDRF – Beyond Type 1 Alliance, we’re leaning into the power of collaboration and working together to support people impacted by diabetes.
Through our Diabetes Scholars program, we awarded scholarships to 58 students living with type 1 diabetes. It was a record-breaking year, with more than $166,000 awarded to high school seniors across the U.S. The program is funded through a network of donations from across the nation, including individual and corporate contributions and named scholarships between $1,000-5,000.
We launched To Climb a Thousand Hills, a multimedia storytelling project on the state of type 1 diabetes care in Rwanda. As part of Beyond Type 1’s partnership with Life for a Child, the project increased donations for Life for a Child by 760%, providing funding for their work to support children and youth with type 1 diabetes in under-resourced countries. Within two months of launch, To Climb a Thousand Hills reached an audience of 1 million readers and received over 4 million views.
We partnered with JDRF to launch the T1D Index, the first data tool ever to measure the prevalence and impact of type 1 diabetes around the world. The T1D Index uses global survey data from more than 400 publications and 500 endocrinologists to simulate the prevalence and impact of T1D. Using its data, advocates around the world can show the impact of improved governmental funding, increased access to basic tools like affordable insulin and blood sugar meters and better awareness of the signs of type 1 diabetes.
Our work as the presenting sponsor of The Human Trial documentary helped drive conversations around cure research and health equity in the innovation space, as well as mainstream awareness of the toll of type 1 diabetes and the significance of clinical trials. The film is currently one of 150 documentaries being considered for an Oscar nomination.
Beyond Type 1 and Willa’s Wish welcomed back Cocktails for a Cure in person for the first time since 2019. The event, which was held at Slate NY on October 15, drew a crowd of nearly 250 people and raised over $138,000 for type 1 diabetes.
We cheered on our 50 runners with type 1 diabetes at the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon, proving that anything is possible with diabetes. Teammates Eric Williamson, a captain at the Cosumnes Fire Department; BJ Garceau, a women’s MMA fighter; and ‘Teen Mom’ Mackenzie McKee are just a few of our team members who shared their stories to help raise awareness of diabetes among the general public and fundraise more than $152,000.
We launched our largest diabetes awareness month campaign to date, #SeeTheSigns, which was our first social awareness campaign to run across both T1D & T2D communities, raising awareness of the signs of diabetes—of all types. The campaign drove over 470 million PR impressions, more than 150 million on social and nearly 1,600 uses of #SeeTheSigns, garnering much-needed awareness of the symptoms and conversation among the community, diabetes influencers and celebrities! We loved seeing awareness posts from our favorites like Nick Jonas and Billy Porter. And we were so excited to kick off the month by ringing the NASDAQ Opening Bell on Nov. 1 alongside Embecta and other select diabetes leaders in the community.
We continued to share our voices beyond the diabetes community to spread awareness, encourage more people to get involved in advocacy and share empowering stories of those impacted by diabetes. Thank you to the journalists and staff at Well + Good, the New York Times, SELF and others for helping to share our voices.
We are incredibly grateful for all we’ve been able to accomplish this year. In 2023, we are looking forward to working together to help even more people impacted by diabetes.
