Arcadia Rotarians, friends and family raised more than $3,000 to help find a cure for juvenile diabetes at the Walk to Cure Diabetes Nov. 7 at Dodger Stadium.
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by Anne Donofrio-Holter
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The event was sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Los Angeles Chapter. Team Rotary, captained by Arcadia’s Michael Ojeda and Rosie Mares, began with a 5K walk of 15,000 participants at 8:30 a.m. outside Dodger Stadium. Last year the team raised $500 for Team Miranda Sara, which they donated to the organization in support of Arcadia Rotarian Dirk Hudson’s granddaughter, but this marked the first year the group participated in the event itself. “We walked inside the stadium for our third lap and as the names of the teams were flashed across the marquee, for the first time there was Team Rotary,” said Ojeda. “As we took it all in we couldn’t help but feel that history was being made.” Ojada and the Arcadia team, which also included members of the San Marino, Sierra Madre and Monrovia Rotary clubs, were inspired at the sight of participants holding hands as they walked and children riding atop their parents’ shoulders. “It was quite a sight,” he said. “Although unrehearsed, a symbol of a common purpose.” The team’s initial goal was to raise $1,000.