Feb. 24, there will be a ski and snowboard event at Pico Mountain Resort in Killington to raise money for diabetes research.Donations for Diabetesis a nonprofit charity organization that raises money to find a cure for the disease. Participants raise money through either skiing or snowboarding and all proceeds go to the cause.

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Lynn and Brad Pratt started the charity three years ago when their seven-year-old daughter Ashley was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Their goal was to spread awareness that a cure for diabetes is within reach.

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The Cynic got a chance to sit down with the Pratt family and talk about both the history of the program as well as its future.

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“As my way of coping with this diagnoses, I felt like I needed to do something to help her, not just that day, but in the long run,” Lynn Pratt said. “We hope to make a difference by raising funds to help support diabetes research and ultimately find a cure for this disease. This will allow our daughter and all the others out there like her lead normal lives.”

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The idea of this organization is for participants to raise money or skiing or snowboarding, very similar to a donation walk, just “Vermont style.”

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100 percent of the proceeds from this event will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in hopes that it will contribute to discovering a cure for the disease.

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If you raise $50, you can ski for half price, and if you raise $500, you can ski for free.  Along with skiing and snowboarding, you can win some event merchandise and prizes for the most money raised as well as other categories.

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From ten to 12 o’clock, there will be a timed ski race, with the fastest times winning prizes. Donations for Diabetes has $1,200 worth of prizes donated by local businesses and more is still coming.The more people that know about it, the more money can be raised for this important cause.

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If you are interested in participating or have any other questions visit DonationsforDiabetes.org. For business there is the option for some great exposure by sponsoring the event or donating a product that can be raffled or serve as a race prize.

“Last year we raised over $14,500, and this year I just hope to beat that! I would like to thank our major sponsors for this year’s event, because we would not even be able to get close to that number without them,” Pratt said. “We also have many local businesses sponsoring and donating prizes and raffle items. Without all of them, we could not do this event.I hope you will help us out with this wonderful cause!”