Stars to Lead Walk To Cure Diabetes.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 1999--

Talk show host Leeza Gibbons and boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard will lead a record number of fund-raisers when the Walk To Cure Diabetes steps out on Sunday, Nov. 14, at 9 a.m. in Griffith Park.

Gibbons and Leonard, who have both been touched by diabetes in their own families and are co-chairs of JDF nationwide Walk To Cure Diabetes, will lead an expected gathering of over 3,000 supporters hoping to raise more than $1 million for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International -- Los Angeles Chapter.

The 16th annual Walk To Cure Diabetes in Los Angeles will be a highlight of National Diabetes Awareness Month, raising vital funds for research into the disease, which affects an estimated 16 million Americans, including 1 million suffering from juvenile diabetes.

Diabetic complications can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, limb loss and nerve damage. Every 40 seconds a new case of diabetes is diagnosed in the United States, and an estimated 179,000 people die from its complications each year. Each and every day 35 children in America will be diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.

The Walk To Cure Diabetes is among many events that have helped the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International to fund more than $326 million in research since 1970. This year alone more than $75 million will be given to leading scientists around the globe who are engaged in cutting-edge work in search of the cure.

The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International (JDF) was founded in 1970 by parents of children with diabetes. Their mission: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. JDF is organized on a business-world model, a focus that enables the organization to provide 84 cents of every dollar raised to research and education about research.