Lambda Chi Alpha is excited to announce a new partnership with Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), the leading global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization, to raise awareness of the condition, increase service opportunities for Members, and support Breakthrough T1D’s mission to cure, prevent, and treat T1D and its complications.
T1D is an autoimmune condition that causes the pancreas to make very little insulin or none at all. People living with T1D must take insulin by injection or insulin pump to survive. Over 1.5 million Americans live with T1D.
Breakthrough T1D was founded in 1970 and has been at the forefront of T1D research and advocacy for over 50 years. The organization has played a pivotal role in nearly every major T1D breakthrough in history, including automated insulin delivery systems, continuous glucose monitors, and Tzield, the first FDA-approved disease-modifying therapy for T1D that can delay the onset of clinical T1D for two years or more. While the challenges of T1D can be complex, constant, and life-threatening, Breakthrough T1D helps make everyday life with T1D better while driving toward cures.
“We are establishing this international partnership to accelerate research toward a cure for type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects thousands of young adults during pivotal life transitions,” said Troy Medley, Lambda Chi Alpha CEO. “Many within our student membership and Alumni network are either managing T1D themselves or supporting family members with the condition. Through education, resources, and research funding, we aim to create meaningful support for our Members whose lives are touched by type 1 diabetes every day.”
T1D was once viewed as a condition that could only be diagnosed in early childhood. Now, it is known that T1D can develop at any age, regardless of family history.
Those diagnosed may experience T1D for the first time in high school or in early college, leaving a great deal of concern for parents as they send their child away to university. Lambda Chi Alpha hopes to lessen those fears through education on T1D and how to help a peer or someone living with T1D themselves manage the condition.
The website Breakthrough T1D and Lambda Chi Alpha is live here.
Here, you can set a personal fundraising goal, join a Chapter team, and learn more about helping find cures for T1D.
“Breakthrough T1D is proud to announce a partnership with Lambda Chi Alpha and is grateful for their efforts to rally their Active and Alumni Members to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes and our mission,” said Brett Collins, Breakthrough T1D Vice President of Corporate and Institutional Giving.
“Our partnership is one way Lambda Chi Alpha demonstrates its commitment to a better world. Their service in support of organizations like Breakthrough T1D will help us accelerate breakthroughs on the paths to cures for type 1 diabetes.”
This partnership is dedicated to Kelsey Bond Lichtenauer, the daughter of Lambda Chi Alpha Brother and Office of Administration Chief Marketing Officer Tad Lichtenauer, who tragically passed in January 2025 due to complications from T1D. Lambda Chi Alpha is dedicated to the new partnership with Breakthrough T1D and aims to fight for a day where a cure is a reality for those afflicted with T1D.
“As both a father and a Member of Lambda Chi Alpha, this partnership with Breakthrough T1D is deeply personal,” said Lichtenauer. “My daughter, Kelsey, lived with type 1 diabetes for 13 years, facing the daily mental and physical challenges that so many young adults with this disease endure.
“Our hope is that through this partnership, we can increase education, awareness, and support—so that no family has to experience the heartbreak of losing a loved one too soon. At its core, Lambda Chi Alpha is about service and making a difference in the world. Through this partnership, we have the opportunity to help create a future where type 1 diabetes is no longer a life-threatening diagnosis.”
Lambda Chi Alpha is proud to partner with Breakthrough T1D to further empower our Members and their mission of service. With this new partnership, more education and information will be offered to Members about T1D. To learn more about Breakthrough T1D, visit breakthrought1d.org.
