The You Can Do This Project was selected as a finalist by a panel of judges, and now it’s up to the community to determine who, among the 15 finalists, will receive each of the nine $2,000 grants. (There will be three winners in each of the three categories of “connect”, “empower” and “educate/inform”.)

Cast your vote for the YCDTP by clicking the Vimeo “like” icon within the video, and sharing it in whatever ways you’re willing to do so! Voting ends Friday, June 15th at 5:00 pm PDT.

Connection: Newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes

Blog post: http://aynzan.blogspot.com/2012/03/where-theres-will-theres-way.html

It took me some time  to come to terms regarding my newly detected health issue. After analysing and comprehending the magnitude of the whole problem, I have stepped up with a totally new confidence in me. Like a mantra, I constantly keep repeating that I don’t want the ‘diabetes’ to take control of my life. And that’s when I decided to take the initiative to make amends: for me and for the sake of my dear family.

Contributor: Alexis; http://justicesmisbehavingpancreas.blogspot.com/

Connection: Parent of a child with type 1 diabetes

Standout Quote: “Seeing him low or high just breaks my soul; my heart. But I’m at a point where I’m grateful: that I have insulin in the fridge, syringes, sites, cartridges, pump, a great endo, I have you guys… no, this isn’t the life that I would have chosen, but this is the hand we were dealt so I feel like I need to play it well.”

Contributor: Stacey; @PortblPancGrl

Connection: Person with type 1 diabetes

Standout Quote: “I lost my father almost 8 years ago to diabetes complications. To know that that was from the same disease that I have is quite scary. But, I try to not think about that too much. What I try to do is keep a positive outlook and take one day at a time. When things get tough, I definitely talk to somebody. I think that’s the best thing that you can do – do not keep your frustrations inside.”

Contributor: Briley; @4thandLife

Connection: Person with type 1 diabetes

Standout Quote: “The good days outnumber the bad, and that’s what you need to remember – that even on the bad days, there’s always someone there for you. We’re here, waiting for you to say ‘Help! I need you! I want some support!’ We’ll be there, just like everyone else was there for us.”

Contributors: Joe and Reyna; betabuddies.blogspot.com

Connection: Child with type 1 diabetes and his mom

Standout Quote: “I don’t like telling you this – it is a hard emotion to deal with, but frankly you will be envious; you will be jealous. Forgive yourself for these emotions. You are hurting; you are grieving. It is understandable. It is okay.”

Connection: Person with type 1 diabetes

Blog post: http://www.thesilvertalon.com/silver-talon-blog/you-can-do-this-

As a kid, I always wanted to be a firefighter. Since I was little, I’d wear my kid’s turnout gear around the house pretending I was answering a fire call. But sometimes people told me that since I had diabetes, I couldn’t be a firefighter. “How could you fight fires and save lives when you have to constantly worry about your own?” they’d ask. I would just look at them and shake my head, knowing that diabetes wouldn’t–couldn’t–stop me from achieving my dream. Now, at age 18, I’ve been with the Whippany Fire Department for over two years, I’ve battled a house fire, and I’ve responded to hundreds–yes, hundreds–of emergency calls, serving my community as a fully trained Whippany Fire Fighter. I did not let diabetes overcome my desire to be a firefighter. Of course, there are certain precautions I must take, such as keeping a bottle or two of Gatorade in my bunker pants in case I feel my blood sugar starting to drop on a fire call, but with those precautions taken care of, any diabetic can and should serve his or her community as a firefighter, EMT, police officer, or in whatever capacity he or she wishes.

Contributors: JDRF staff and volunteers with type 1 diabetes; www.jdrf.org

Standout Quotes: “When you are at wits’ end and need someone to vent to, just know that you have a whole online community of people going through the same kind of things that you are going through. They will be with you along the way, rooting for you, telling you that you can do this.”

Connection: Parent of a child with type 1 diabetes

Blog post: http://bloodsweatcarbs.blogspot.com/2011/06/you-can-do-this-from-one-type-1-parent.html

[Dylan has] played soccer for 3 years, from grades 2-4, and took karate at the same time, working his way up to his orange belt, before giving up the martial art due to time restraints (and he would like to resume both of these activities as soon as his schedule permits). He has taken countless sets of swimming lessons, and is headed to his third diabetes camp this summer. We also regularly go camping, hiking, cycling, walking, skiing, and geocaching as a family. He is on the school honor roll and for the past 2 years he has been part of the “gifted” program in his school district, which means that for a 1/2 day per week he goes to a different school with other “gifted” children to do more abstract challenge projects. And this past year he took up perhaps the scariest of all team sports, ice hockey, which he adores. All of this, combined with the youth ambassador work he does for JDRF, and a large group of school friends that he cares passionately about. Diabetes has accompanied us on family vacations to Las Vegas, Disneyland, Puerto Vallarta (twice), and many local destinations. With each new activity, we have faced new challenges, such as whether to suspend the pump, run a temp basal, switch to syringes, or simply remove the pump altogether, but through it all, Dylan has been positive and happy, and, to date, we have never had an A1C of over 9.0, so we’re doing okay.

Contributor: Nadine; @Smileypooh

Connection: Person with type 1 diabetes

Standout Quote: “I would love to say that I’m a model diabetic – [that] I do nothing wrong, I eat everything right, I follow the rules – if anyone can actually say that they do that, I’d love to meet them because they would be my new superhero. I live with type 1 diabetes, but the important thing is I live. I enjoy life.”