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About Children with Diabetes

Children with Diabetes is an Ohio-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing education and support to families living with type 1 diabetes. Our official corporate name is T-1 Today, Inc. (Ohio Charter 2231845) with a Trade Name Filing for Children with Diabetes. Most people know us as Children with Diabetes.

Our Mission

Children with Diabetes focuses on care today, so we are ready for a cure tomorrow. As a global resource, we provide support, education and inspiration to empower families and all people living with diabetes to enjoy healthy, enriched lives.

Our Staff

The staff of Children with Diabetes works tirelessly to move its mission forward.  

JeffHitchcock202011TR

Jeff Hitchcock is the Founder, President, and CEO of Children with Diabetes. He started CWD in June of 1995 to share his family's experience caring for a child with type 1 diabetes. He and his wife, Brenda, are forever grateful for the families from CWD and Friends for Life who have helped so many people to live well with type 1 diabetes.

LeighFickling2023a

Leigh Fickling, JD, MEd, MS, serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Children with Diabetes. Leigh is responsible for the day-to-day operational leadership of the organization. Leigh’s daughter, Ava, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2013 at the age of three. Leigh is a subject matter expert in the implementation of accommodations for people with diabetes in the classroom, workplace, and beyond.

MarissaTown2022TR

Marissa Town, BSN, RN, CDCES, is the Clinical Director for CWD. Marissa oversees the medical content for CWD’s website, programming at Friends for Life conferences, and collaborates with healthcare professionals and other diabetes organizations to help CWD and FFL provide current, evidenced-based diabetes education and support. Marissa has lived with T1D since 1989 and has worked in a variety of diabetes education roles.

MattPoint2023Wash

Matthew Point, MS, is CWD's Director of Advancement and Programs. In this role, he manages corporate sponsorships, fundraising efforts, and the coordination of CWD's events, such as our renowned Friends for Life conferences. Matt's journey with CWD began in 2013 when he attended his first event, Friends for Life Orlando. What Matt values most about his involvement with CWD and the Friends for Life Conferences is the opportunities he has to connect with other significant others of individuals with type 1 diabetes.

SashaSquibb2023TR

Sasha Squibb is a visual communication specialist with a focus in non-profit marketing. She serves as CWD’s Creative Director, overseeing social media, The Weekly Diabetes newsletter, marketing, and design. Sasha was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of three, and in a previous role, oversaw outreach and marketing initiatives for the T1D community across Southwest Ohio. She is highly passionate about providing education and support for people with T1D and their families.

AshlynMills2023TR

Ashlyn Mills serves as CWD’s Events and Programs Manager. Ashlyn has been living with type 1 diabetes since 2015 when she was diagnosed at the age of 19. She quickly found her tribe in CWD and attended her first FFL conference less than one year after her diagnosis. By trade, Ashlyn is a licensed physical therapist assistant but the connections diabetes created quickly changed her career path. Ashlyn is passionate about helping people with diabetes and their families connect so they don’t have to do it alone. In her spare time, Ashlyn loves to run, bike, visit Disney World, and camp with her family.

About the Children with Diabetes Web site

Being diagnosed with diabetes is a life-changing event, and raising a child is an exciting and ongoing challenge made even more demanding when managing a chronic illness. The childrenwithdiabetes.com web site is a leading destination on the Internet for families dealing with type 1 diabetes, a Web resource for parents of children with type 1 diabetes and adults with type 1 diabetes, and is dedicated to helping you find the information and support you need and in caring for anyone living with type 1 diabetes.

Jeff Hitchcock, founder, president, and CEO, began Children with Diabetes in 1995 in response to his daughter Marissa’s diabetes diagnosis at the age of two (in 1989). The idea was — and continues to be — to share experiences with other families, so that together, we can all make a difference in the lives of everyone living with type 1 diabetes.

We’re here to offer families and caregivers guidance, with original high-quality, science-based content and practical suggestions from trusted sources such as pediatric endocrinologists, certified diabetes educators, nurses, nutritionists, researchers, advocates, and fellow parents.

Why are we one of the most trusted diabetes resources on the Web?

For these reasons:

  • Diabetes expertise. The seasoned professionals on our team have worked at major diabetes organizations and been involved with patient care and research for many years. More important, many of us are moms and dads who are living the subject firsthand, raising children with type 1 diabetes. We research and fact-check the content we publish, and include references so you can check the science yourself.
  • A sense of community. Our site offers a thriving support system, letting you connect with other parents, people with diabetes, and medical professionals for answers to your questions. Whether you are researching products, coping with a newly diagnosed “honeymoon,” or searching for how to go on vacation with a child with diabetes, our Ask The Diabetes Team, Forums, and general content provide a wealth of information aimed at helping parents and families live a life without limits, even while managing diabetes.
  • Recognition as a trusted source. Children with Diabetes focuses exclusively on diabetes, letting us concentrate on helping you make confident, informed choices. Since the site’s launch in June 1995, we’ve been a constant and familiar resource for families living with diabetes.
  • Respect for our users. Your privacy is important to us. We won’t share information about individual readers with any advertiser, marketer, or outside party without your permission. See our privacy policy.
  • No commercial conflicts of interest. Unless otherwise noted, all content within this web site is authored by members of CWD, who have no commercial conflicts of interest. All content within the CWD Answers section is written by a member of our volunteer Diabetes Team, and their initials are noted in each of their answers. Members of the Diabetes Team are practicing health care professionals with no commercial conflicts of interest.

Social Media

Connect with us on social media! Children with Diabetes® has a strong social media presence and is active on all social platforms. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Editorial and Advertising Policy

Children With Diabetes is dedicated to providing families with high-quality, scientifically based content. We want to be your most trusted parenting resource for your child with diabetes. That’s why we offer practical guidance from expert sources, such as pediatric and adult endocrinologists, diabetes educators, nurses, researchers, advocates, and — equally important — fellow parents and adults.

Our content is all originally reported, fact checked, and reviewed with a few exceptions related to sharing research and news links. Our editors and advisors are constantly updating and reviewing content, and we make every effort to make corrections in a timely manner.

As part of our mission to provide readers with trustworthy information, we adhere to a policy of separation between editorial and advertising content. We believe you should always know the source of the information you’re reading. We never allow advertisers to influence editorial content, and all advertising is either clearly separated from editorial content (in standard placements such as banner ads and right-hand units), or clearly labeled “advertisement” or “from our sponsors.”

Children With Diabetes receives the bulk of its funding from corporate and philanthropic sponsorships of annual and regional conferences, which are opportunities available to all companies with diabetes-related products, technologies, and services.

Our Guidestar Reference

Annual Reports

Our annual reports highlight our programs and events for the year, thank your generous sponsors and donors, and break down our income and expenses in general terms. Our annual reports are best viewed in Adobe Acrobat with Page Display set to Two Page View with Show Cover Page in Two Page View checked.

Our 990 Reports

An organization that is designated a 501(c)(3) non profit is required to file a Form 990 with the IRS on an annual basis to describe the financial picture of the organization over the previous year. These documents are available to the general public and, in a spirit of transparency, CWD is providing ours here. If anyone would like to have a further explanation of this document, please consult with your tax/financial advisor, or send us an e-mail with your questions.

CWD and FFL Resources

Are you looking for resources to share with your local community? Use the link below.

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