Novo Nordisk Awards Grants to Support Summer Camp for Children with Diabetes

PRINCETON, N.J., March 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Novo Nordisk Inc., a world leader in diabetes care, announced that it has awarded funds to support scholarships and capital improvements to diabetes summer camps at fifteen locations nationwide.  In support of their dedication to meeting the needs of children with diabetes, the grants will help the camps provide financial assistance programs to campers and improve facilities for the campers' use.

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"Novo Nordisk recognizes the important positive impact that diabetes camps can make in helping children and families with diabetes lead healthier, happier, and more productive lives," said Jerzy Gruhn, president of Novo Nordisk Inc.  "By helping children and families with diabetes discover ways to manage diabetes and start developing skills to help take care of oneself, the camps are helping to change diabetes – how it is treated, how it is viewed, and how the disease evolves in the future."

According to a position statement by the American Diabetes Association published in Diabetes Care, camping experiences for children and youth with diabetes are invaluable.  Diabetes summer camps provide an ideal place for teaching diabetes self management and children benefit from the friendships they develop from being in an environment where the norm is to have diabetes(1).  These grants, which total $165,000, are a reflection of Novo Nordisk's commitment to changing diabetes by helping to find ways to improve diabetes education and management.

Among the grant recipients is Camp Nejeda, the only residential summer camp in New Jersey and its neighboring states serving exclusively youth with insulin dependent diabetes and their families.  The Novo Nordisk award will support scholarships for children with diabetes and their families for 80 weeks of camp and capital improvement projects including camper cabin renovations.

"We are proud to be recognized by Novo Nordisk for our efforts to provide a place where children can meet and learn from other children and adult counselors with diabetes, who listen and understand first-hand what it's like to live with diabetes," said Philip E. De Rea, Executive Director of the Camp Nejeda Foundation, Inc.  "The support of Novo Nordisk, both in grants and volunteerism, is helping Camp Nejeda to offer children and young adults with diabetes the opportunity to come together in a supportive environment."  Novo Nordisk employees have contributed approximately 750 volunteer hours at Camp Nejeda throughout the year, with teams of up to 60 helping to make necessary repairs and prepare the camp for opening.

The grants to support diabetes summer camps are part of the Novo Nordisk effort to support worthy programs, including valuable healthcare professional and patient education programs.  The company believes that well educated professionals and patients help to promote the best possible treatment regimens.

Camps that received grants are Lions Camp Merrick in Maryland Point, Md.; NorthBay Adventure Camp in North East, Md.; Camp Nejeda in Stillwater, N.J.; Camp Independence at the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island in Staten Island, N.Y.; Circle of Life Camp in  North Greenbush, N.Y.; Camp CHAM/DSG at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y.; Robert K. Sweeney Summer Fun Days Camp in Yaphank, N.Y.; ADA Camp Carolina Trails in the Sauertown Mountains, N.C.; ADA Camp Independence in Paristown Mountain, S.C.; Camp Barclay in North Springfield, Pa.; ADA Donovan McNabb Camp for Kids in Bala Cynwyd, Pa.; ADA Camp Crestfield at Slippery Rock, Pa.; Camp Red Jacket in Allentown, Pa.; Camp Fun in the Sun in Spokane, Wash.; and ADA Camp Sealth on Vashon Island, Wash.

About Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 87 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care.  The company also has leading positions within hemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone therapy for women.  Novo Nordisk's business is driven by the Triple Bottom Line: a commitment to social responsibility to employees and customers, environmental soundness and economic success.  Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs more than 29,300 employees in 76 countries, and markets its products in 179 countries.  Novo Nordisk's B shares are listed on the stock exchange in Copenhagen and its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NVO).  For more information, visit novonordisk-us.com.

(1) American Diabetes Association (2004). Diabetes Care at Diabetes Camps. Diabetes Care, 27, S129 – S131

SOURCE Novo Nordisk Inc.