Welcome to the T1 Club
The T1 Club was established in 2019 in the North-West area of Northern Ireland to fulfil a need to create a much-needed community for young people with Type One Diabetes and their families. We have an active WhatsApp parents group, as well as monthly activities for all the family.
Contact us: typeoneclub@gmail.com
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Together we are stronger... 💪
The T1 Club was established in 2019 in the North-West area of Northern Ireland to fulfil a need to create a much-needed community for young people with Type One Diabetes and their families.
As parents of children and young people with Type One we recognised that although medically our children were catered for, they had no way of meeting others and learning about life with Diabetes from their peers unless they happened to say hello in the waiting room at clinic... so the T1 Club was born!
After a diagnosis of Type One Diabetes life can be very lonely for not only the child/young person but for the whole family. What we want to create is a support network for parents, care-givers and also peer support and friendships for our young people.
What We Offer
We offer support for parents through our WhatsApp group, and a chance for young people to meet other with type 1 diabetes through our events and meetups. Most of all we offer friendship and understanding.
Together we are strong!
Family Support
Our group is run by parents and caregivers who know what it's like to live with Type One Diabetes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We want to be able to reach out and support as many other families as we can through our family meet-ups and training events. We offer a WhatsApp group specifically for parents so they can interact with each other at any time.
Junior and Teen Programmes
We hold specific programmes for Juniors and teens throughout the year, and also give our young people the chance to volunteer at various events. Our aim is for our young people to provide peer support and friendship for each other so they know they are NOT alone.
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We hold monthly Meet-ups at the Brunswick Moviebowl, where we play bowls and provide peer support for our families and young people. We also hold events during school holidays, and love a good excuse for our legendary T1Club parties!
Recent Events
Here are some of the fundraising events we've been up to recently!
Dip for Diabetes
Benone Beach, Sun 4th June
The T1 Club Founders
The T1 Club committee is made up of parents and caregivers of young people with Type One Diabetes. We believe that peer and family support is key to helping our young people through life with Type One.​
Co-Founder
Gayle
"Hello Everyone. My name is Gayle and my daughter’s name is Lilly. Lilly was diagnosed with Type1 Diabetes in January 2016 at the age of 6. It was a complete shock to the system. Nobody in our family had Type1 Diabetes.
Overnight I became a mathematician, dietician, night nurse as well as working full time. Diabetes has its challenges which I have found are mostly caused by an individual’s lack of knowledge and understanding of it.
I have been involved with the T1 Club right from the start. It is a safe space where I can share both frustration and opportunities Type1 Diabetes brings. My daughter has benefited greatly from being around other children with Type1 Diabetes as well. There is always a friendly face at the end of a WhatsApp conversation or at one of our meet-ups to help with the questions like what are the carbs in a Mcdonald's cheeseburger or finding a copy of the sick day rules.
The T1 Club is such a supportive group and everybody is at different stages of their journey and I find this support and understanding wonderful."
Co-Founder
Edelle
"Hi my name is Edelle, and I am one of the founders of the T1 Club. My son Shane was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes at 7. When he was first diagnosed we struggled so much with the relentless nature of T1D. This pushed me to take action and do something to help other families so they would not struggle like we did.
I have a background in youth work and have worked within the community sector for many years, and know the value of young people making friendships and building their support network. It is so important to be around others that understand what living with Diabetes is like and so the T1 Club was born! We hope tohelp as many young people and families as possible, and am so proud of our peer support, helping each other on our journeys. "