Annual softball classic still raising money for a good cause

For 30 years, members of the Merrick community have been gathering annually for a softball game. It’s not just any regular game though, because the crew has long been raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, also known as JDRF.

The efforts were started in part by Phillip Bank, and his good friend Brian Katz, who’s daughter, Lauren, was diagnosed with diabetes when she was a baby.

“We were just having a bunch of guys get together to play softball,” Bank explained. “When she was born, and she started having some symptoms, she was diagnosed as having juvenile diabetes. And we said, you know what, we should do this softball game again next year, but we’ll do it as a fundraiser.”

Katz’s daughter, Lauren Epstein, now 33, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was about a year old, Katz said.

“Type 1 involves the destruction of the cells that produce insulin,” he said. “They’re called beta cells in the pancreas, and they are completely destroyed. As a result, in order to live, a Type 1 diabetic had to take daily injections of insulin, so that the body can metabolize food, specifically glucose.”

Today, Lauren is healthy, and recently gave birth to her first son, but there’s a lot that goes into managing diabetes, Katz explained.

“It’s a very tricky management, because you have to take into account the right amount of insulin, the right amount of food and activity level,” he said. “So you’re constantly juggling these three factors to survive on a daily basis. At this point, there is no cure. Management is a lot better than it was when my daughter was diagnosed in 1991, but there still is no cure.”

For children diagnosed, it can be hard to tell when they’re sugar levels are low, especially if they’re 1-year-olds like Lauren, Katz said.

“We pretty much had to learn body language and try to figure out what was going on with her,” he said.

Technology advancements, like continuous glucose monitors that are affixed to a body, that help blood sugar get managed through a simple app, have made treating diabetes much easier. But, research is still key in helping diabetics live even healthier lives — and that’s where organizations like JDRF can make a difference.

JDRF is the leading global organization for diabetes research.

“I think, you know, when we have meetings with JDRF, where we read up on the improvements that are happening with the artificial pancreas and the glucose monitors, and all these developments, it is remarkable scientifically what they’ve done in 30 years, since we started to learn more about it,” Bank said. “But still, in softball terms, it’s a lot of singles and doubles — they haven’t hit a home run yet.”

Over the last 30 years, the group has raised $87,000 for JDRF. The game has grown over the years, and extended through many generations of friends and families, who all come out to support the good cause.

Their next softball classic is slated for Sunday, Oct. 1, where it will be played in Eisenhower Park in East Meadow on Softball Field No. 3. Their goal for 2023 is to raise an additional $5,000 for JDRF.

“Technology has gotten better in terms of managing, but what research is trying to do is develop a way to transplant healthy beta cells into a diabetic, so they can produce insulin naturally,” Katz said. “We’re hoping that someday, before Lauren is my age, there will be a cure.”

To donate to the cause, and support the work of the softball classic, Bit.ly/46nnODr.