"They embraced us and gave us hope. There's no other place in the world like it."
-- Crystal Blaylock
Who
Crystal Blaylock, of the family-owned Blaylock Oil Company in South Florida
Why she's involved
Her son, Matthew, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2005, when he was five years old.
How she helps
She and her family hold an annual fundraising event, the Shell Key West Challenge. In the past three years alone, the fishing tournament has contributed in excess of $300,000 to the DRI.
Why the DRI?
After her son was diagnosed, she discovered the DRI. “They embraced us and gave us hope,” she says. “There’s no other place in the world like it. They have so many advances, and they’re so close.”
“My hope is that one day they’ll be a cure for Mathew and so many kids like him, and the DRI gives me hope for that.”
As for her determination to find the cure? “We’re going to go out and get it," she says. "We won’t stop until we do find a cure.”
Learn More- Watch a video about Crystal Blaylock and her son, Matthew, who has type 1 diabetes.
- See highlights from a recent Shell Key West Challenge fishing fundraising event, organized by Crystal and her family.