Former Oregon Duck Sponsoring Diabetes Awareness Essay Contest

Contest categories are elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools in Oregon.

Haloti Ngata was a consensus All-American in 2005. Photo courtesy: goducks.com

BALTIMORE, Md. - Former Oregon football player Haloti Ngata, now a member of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens is sponsoring an essay contest for students 18 and under to help raise awareness of diabetes.

A $1,000 prize will be awarded to three winners and shared by the school, classroom, and student.

Entrants should write an essay (up to 500 words) describing a project their class can do to raise awareness of diabetes.

Diabetes is a disease that affects kids of all ages. You need not be a diabetic to enter.

All essays become the property of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Submissions should be postmarked by March 31, 2008. This is an annual contest.

Contest categories are elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools in Oregon. Ngata is also sponsoring the contests in Maryland and Utah.

To register, go to www.HalotiNgata.com and click on Haloti’s JDRF “Walk to Cure Diabetes” logo to get access to the registration form for the contest.

Individuals will have an information packet sent from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation address with additional information about the essay contest.

Haloti is a graduate of Highland High School (Salt Lake City, UT) and was a football star for the Ducks. He currently plays defensive tackle for the Ravens.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is the largest charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research in the world.

They are driven to find a cure for diabetes because of the devastating nature of the disease, which strikes children, adolescents and adults suddenly, makes them insulin dependent for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications.

In the U.S., a new case of diabetes is diagnosed every 30 seconds; more than 1.5 million people are diagnosed each year.

JDRF, is known for their fiscal management; of every dollar raised over 86 cents goes directly to research and education. www.jdrf.org/maryland

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