Each year at the Hope Gala, Breakthrough T1D presents the Impact Award to individuals or organizations who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to our mission of improving lives today and tomorrow by accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, treat, and prevent type 1 diabetes (T1D) and its complications. This year’s honorees, Breakthrough T1D Game2Give Leaders & Founders, were selected for their extraordinary commitment to Breakthrough T1D and the well-being of our community.

The Breakthrough T1D Northern California Chapter began exploring video game fundraising after Dan Connors, a game industry veteran and T1D dad, set up a donation through the online game store Humble Bundle. Excited by the possibilities, we collaborated with Dan and Hans ten Cate, another T1D dad in the game industry, to help get Breakthrough T1D Game2Give off the ground.

In 2020, Breakthrough T1D Game2Give grew into a worldwide initiative and Breakthrough T1D hired yet another T1D dad and former game industry executive Josh Larson to lead the program. Since then, more and more video game professionals with T1D connections have joined our volunteer group, all with a common goal: to develop creative ways to advance Breakthrough T1D’s mission, and to have fun doing it.

Today, the Breakthrough T1D Game2Give community includes hundreds of gamers, streamers, developers, and publishers who have used video games to raise more than $2.5 million for critical research into new treatments and potential cures—and we’ll keep at it until we can say “game over” to T1D!  To learn more visit jdrf.org/gaming.

We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to honor and celebrate Breakthrough T1D Game2Give Leaders & Founders at the 2023 Breakthrough T1D Hope Gala which will take place on September 30 at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco. Sponsorships and tickets are available now at jdrf.org/norcal/hopegala.