#69: Rebecca Wilber | Turning a Life Altering Experience into a Philanthropic Dream

It was just by chance our paths would cross at a T1D kiddo and parent support group. I rarely attend and Rebecca and her husband James were guests that evening. When we split off into another room, Rebecca shared her heartfelt story to the parents and there was not a dry eye in the room. For many of us who have lived with T1D for decades, sharing the impact this disease has on our state of mind can be difficult to recollect, much less share. Rebecca found the courage and is turning a life altering experience into a philanthropic dream.

BIO:

Rebecca is the Executive Director for The Community Firm located in Oklahoma City and has over 20 years working in non-profit development. Within the past year her team has been putting together the Oklahoma Born and Branded Festival. The Festival is centered around exposing and developing the Oklahoma Small Business’s by providing a platform to launch their service or product to a wider audience while promoting the “buy local” movement. During this process the festival has taken on a personal meaning for Rebecca, in that, the Saturday Night Concert is being promoted to raise and gather donations to send kids with Type 1 Diabetes to Camp. Rebecca was diagnosed at age 14 in St. Louis, Missouri and within 10 days was also diagnosed with Meningitis. With a long road of recovery, diabetes camp became a strong hold of support and life changing encouragement.

Married with three biological children, Rebecca and her husband James are working to establish a Foundation that focuses on paying for kids to go to camp no matter where they reside within the United States. As their philanthropy grows, they will expand their efforts to include insulin pump therapy and CGM devices to the list of scholarship opportunities.

LINKS:

Social Media Links:

* Facebook: Oklahoma Born and Branded Festival

* Website: Oklahoma Born and Branded Festival

Oklahoma Diabetes Camps:

* Camp Blue Hawk

* Camp Endres