Water Fight Aims to Raise Awareness for Various Causes

02/08/06 Water Fight is at Meijer Stores; but don't show up with your super-soaker -- bring cash.

Beginning August 3rd, Meijer Stores, the popular Midwest retail grocer, will carry a new line of cause-related bottled water products called Water Fight. Meijer is teaming up with Water Fight and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the world's largest charitable funder of research into type 1 diabetes and its complications, for an extra push this year in their efforts to raise funds to find a cure for juvenile diabetes -- or type 1 diabetes, the debilitating and often deadly disease that strikes as many as 3 million Americans.

Water Fight is the brainchild of Grand Rapids restaurateur and entrepreneur Joe Guglielmi (goo-yell-me), and is designed to raise funds for any number of major philanthropic efforts. Water Fight's bottles will be packaged and promoted as charity fundraising promotion, with a percentage of bottle sales going to a charitable cause. JDRF was chosen to be Water Fight's first charitable cause to support -- other charity partnerships are anticipated. "As we like to say, 'Pick a Fight, Not a Flavor,'" said Guglielmi. "This means that we can raise funds to find a cure for diabetes, fight homelessness, world AIDS awareness, and all sorts of incredibly important causes." A six-pack of Water Fight bottles will be sold at $2.99; and a percentage of Water Fight's sales from Meijer stores will go to JDRF.

"Any time you raise your JDRF bottle and take a sip of water you are doing something more than quenching your thirst," explains Guglielmi. "You are not only contributing to the substantial efforts to find a cure for juvenile diabetes, you are waving the banner of your cause, telling everyone that you're in the fight to find a cure for this devastating disease, which will ultimately bring others into the fight. The potential for organizations like the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is phenomenal," says Guglielmi.

Every year, more than 13,000 people -- most of them children -- are diagnosed with type 1 (or juvenile) diabetes, a chronic autoimmune disease in which a person's pancreas stops producing insulin -- a hormone needed to turn food into energy.

Type 1 diabetes usually strikes in childhood or adolescence, and is most often diagnosed before the age of 30. To stay alive, people with type 1 diabetes must take multiple insulin injections daily or continually infuse insulin through a pump and test their blood sugar. While trying to balance insulin doses with their food intake and daily activities, people with this form of diabetes must always be prepared for serious hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemic (high blood sugar) reactions, both of which can be life-threatening. Although life-sustaining, insulin is not a cure nor does it prevent the debilitating complications associated with the disease that can include kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, amputations, heart attack and stroke.

"Meijer and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation were perfect partners for this product launch," Guglielmi continued. "Meijer has historically been very supportive of their community in general, and specifically has donated substantial resources to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Meijer stores are tremendously popular, driving far greater customer volume than most stores, and therefore have an enormous base of potential Water Fight customers."

"We try to look at the needs of our communities with creative eyes. Water Fight is a creative but important way to give back to the community. JDRF is a partner we understand as critical to the health and welfare of thousands of our customers. This is just one more fun but substantive way to provide support to our communities and to the agencies that support our customers' needs," said Stacie Behler, Meijer Vice President, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs.

Water Fight is now available in Meijer Stores in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.