For 24 years, a group of dedicated volunteers has been quietly making a massive impact in the Hunter New England region’s fight against diabetes. The Lions Australia Diabetes Foundation has, to date, donated around $680,000 to HMRI, helping tackle a disease that affects one in eight people in our area.
These volunteers, known as Lions, are everyday people who’ve decided to roll up their sleeves to donate their time, money and effort to make a difference. Foundation trustee Geoff Boyton knows firsthand why this work matters. Back in 2004, he faced his own health battle with prostate cancer.
“Medical research is certainly important to me as a cancer survivor,” Geoff explains. “Without the research that’s gone into prostate cancer treatment, I probably wouldn’t be here today.”
For Secretary Stephen Box, the fight against diabetes hits even closer to home. He carries the memory of losing his cousin who died on his 12th birthday from diabetes back in the early 1950s, when treatment options were virtually non-existent.
“There just wasn’t anything they could really do back then,” Stephen recalls. “Hopefully one day we’ll be able to work out a way to stop people getting diabetes in the first place.”
So why did Lions Diabetes Australia decide to support HMRI? For Stephen, the reason was simple:
“We wanted to support a local research organisation because without research diabetes wouldn’t be able to be cured.”
The foundation itself has an interesting origin story. It was born in 1992 from leftover funds from the 1989 Newcastle Earthquake Appeal – a perfect example of how communities can turn tragedy into hope. Over three decades, they’ve donated more than $1 million to programmes focused on diabetes research, education, and awareness.
“Research is the main thing we focus on because research helps everybody,” says foundation chairman Jim Cowburn, who’s been with the organisation since day one.
Jim has diabetes himself and has witnessed incredible changes in treatment over the years. “I’ve got a little sensor that tells me whether my levels are high or low,” he says. “That sort of thing wasn’t heard of 30 years ago.”
The foundation’s focus over the last few years has been supporting the Diabetes Alliance Plus Programme (DAP+), receiving over $100,000 in grants. The programme brings diabetes specialists directly to rural and remote communities throughout the Hunter New England region. Instead of expecting country patients to travel hours for specialist care, the experts come to them.
The Lions’ funding has been crucial in making this happen, with their grants helping to fund a PhD scholarship that delivers nutrition and exercise components of the programme.
The foundation recently awarded a new grant to expand the DAP+ team’s work, enabling them to address kidney disease associated with diabetes throughout the Hunter New England region.
This isn’t just about money – it’s about bridging the gap between city and country healthcare, giving people living in remote areas access to the same quality of diabetes care as those in metropolitan areas, which means better health outcomes and improved quality of life.
What started as earthquake relief funds has evolved into a powerful force for change, proving that when ordinary people come together with a shared purpose, extraordinary things can happen.
