Everyone's a winner when you can golf for a good cause

Over 100 people participated in the charity golf day raising money for JDRF. Photos: Michelle Kroll, Region Media.

It’s said that a bad day of golf is better than a good day at work – but the golf is guaranteed to be better when you’re raising money for a good cause and you’re not at work.

It was certainly a great day for more than 100 eager golfers at the Federal Golf Club in Red Hill as they raised $20,000 for diabetes research.

The Corporate Traveler Team took out the charity competition but the real winner was the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

The JDRF raises money to fund research into type 1 diabetes (T1D) and give young people with the disease a chance to live an easier life with new technology and devices.

It was all smiles and cupcakes at the charity event.

Chairman of the JDRF Canberra Board Simon Chester says they desperately want to find a cure for T1D.

“The two main things we will be doing with the money is research for a cure but also investing in research for products that make living with T1D easier,” he told Region Media.

“Here in Canberra, there is a strong research unit at John Curtin School.”

JDRF has invested over $150 million in Australian research to date, and the $20,000 that was raised last week will stay in Canberra and go to local support and research such as the John Curtin School of Medical Research at ANU.

Researchers at John Curtin are currently trying to identify a new drug that can be used to treat T1D, and bring together scientists to help make a drug that manages insulin levels, Mr Chester said. Sponsors like Rubik3 made sure that the JDRF were able to hit their $20k fundraising target and ensure research at John Curtin continues.

“We were just really fortunate to get a major sponsor [to help with the event],” Mr Chester said.

Nadia Pessarossi from Rubik3 says the JDRF needs as much awareness as possible.

“I personally know the Chesters very well and it is heartbreaking to see what that family and many families dealing with JDRF have to go through on a day-to-day basis,” she said.

“Rubik3 is known for community support. We want to be part of the solution where we live in a world without Type 1 Diabetes.

“With our connection to the community, it was a no brainer to sponsor this event. We are excited about the day and that our sponsorship funds are going straight to JDRF.”

Rubik3 were one of the major sponsors on the day.

Over 120,000 Australians have T1D, and 2,700 people were diagnosed with the disease in 2017 according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Just over 60 per cent of those diagnosed were under the age of 25.

The cause of T1D is still unknown, with the lifelong disease usually appearing in childhood or adolescence, and requiring insulin to manage the condition.

If you’d like to donate to JDRF, or just want to find out some more information, please visit their website.

The JDRF team on the day.

A trophy for the champion but everyone was a winner.

All smiles at the pop-up bar, by The Dock.

The charity golf day was SOLD OUT.

Teams from all over Canberra came together with some friendly competition.

The Dock were one of the sponsors on the day, supplying refreshments for the golfers.

Organisations such as Chamberlains joined in on the fun.

The heat didn't stop the fun and refreshments certainly helped.

Over $20,000 was raised on the day.

The Rubik3 team.

All money raised was donated to JDRF.

The charity golf day shirts.