Lilly Diabetes has announced a donation of $100,000 to the Diabetes Scholars Foundation (Foundation) scholarship fund to support the Foundation's mission to empower young people with type 1 diabetes to live their lives to the fullest. The Foundation will use the donation to fund college scholarships for students with type 1 diabetes as well as conference scholarships for families to attend the 2012 Children with Diabetes Friends for Life conference in Orlando.

“We are committed to empowerment through education, and we are thrilled that Lilly Diabetes shares that commitment and is investing in the futures of young people with type 1 diabetes through this donation,” said Mary Podjasek, president, Diabetes Scholars Foundation. “Life with diabetes is never easy. Our founders' goal was that - in this one small area of life - having diabetes could be an advantage.”

Supporting people with diabetes and their families through this donation is an example of Lilly Diabetes' commitment to providing personal solutions for everyday life.

“In everything we do, we encourage people with diabetes to follow their dreams,” said Steve Sugino, vice president, Lilly Diabetes. “It's a priority for us to support these amazing young people as they prove over and over again that diabetes doesn't stand in their way of achieving their goals.”

College scholarship award criteria include community involvement, leadership, activities, and advocacy. Applicants must be incoming freshmen at an accredited college or university in the fall of 2012, must write an essay, and provide letters of recommendations from a physician treating their diabetes and a high school counsellor/teacher.

Diabetes Scholars Foundations' goal was to lessen the burden of diabetes through education and give those affected by it tools they need to cope with the disease.

Lilly has been a global leader in diabetes care and introduced the world's first commercial insulin, to meet the diverse needs of people with diabetes through research and collaboration, a broad and growing product portfolio and a continued commitment to providing real solutions—from medicines to support programmes and more to make lives better.

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations.