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HomeNewsAmerican farming buddies travel North to raise awareness for juvenile diabetes

American farming buddies travel North to raise awareness for juvenile diabetes

Photo Courtesy: Taylor Chartrand

They call themselves a couple grown-up farm kids who are trying to raise awareness for juvenile diabetes.

Jeff Newell and Ron Wachholtz are currently on a trip to Prudhoe Bay Alaska from roughly 90 kilometers North of Seattle…on tractors!

The goal of the roughly 4,000-kilometer trip? Simple, to raise awareness and potentially some funds for juvenile diabetes.

“Essentially it’s a charity run for juvenile diabetes or any type of diabetes really,” said Newell, “We’re just two good-hearted fellas trying to raise some money for research and hopefully one day, a cure.”

The 56-year-old Newell says he was diagnosed with diabetes at the early age of 11. He says this trip holds a special place near to his heart and he’s glad his buddy Wachholtz accompanied him on the adventure.

“Diabetes causes one heck of a problem for whoever has to deal with it. I’ve seen a lot over my lifetime and unfortunately, many people have perished due to diabetes. You know when you get diabetes at an early age, it basically becomes the nucleus of your life. The purpose of this trip is to potentially find a cure and maybe even reduce human suffrage a little.”

Photo Courtesy: Taylor Chartrand

The gentlemen began their trip nearly 8 days ago. That’s 8 days of riding a tractor from the US border to Smithers BC, not bad.

“We basically began our trip in Seattle and from there we went across the top of Washington over into Osoyoos. From there, we traveled North and here we are in Smithers on the eighth day. We do about 25 KM/H,” chuckled Newell, “so not fast but we’ve definitely been noticed on the road.”

Newell said they specifically targeted Smithers and Highway 16 for their tour.

“Honestly when we got to Prince George, traffic was a little bit hectic and it’s enough to make a guy a nervous. We apologize for hogging the shoulders of the road but people have been fairly good with letting us pass through. We decided to swing through the Smithers area because why not? It’s gorgeous here and you can’t ignore the scenery.  There’s a lot of attractions in terms of tourism in the area, so we figured it would be the perfect destination to spread our message.”

Newell finished by saying everyone in Canada thus far has been nothing short of humble and kind.

“Canadian’s have been very gracious and welcoming since we’ve crossed the border. Not only have some people actually fed us, but some have even let us camp in their fields. On top of that, the weather has been holding up for us so we’ve been extremely happy with how things have gone to this point.”

If you want to contribute or learn more about the cause, click here.

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