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Press Releases
The One Million Dollar Challenge: "Can You Meet It?" Asks Genovese Drug Chain?
Diabetes Facts
Research Funding Facts
The Genovese Family has a challenge for Long Island businesses and community
members. All it takes is money and a genuine devotion to a charitable cause
- finding a cure for diabetes and its complications.
The Genovese Family is the founder of the Genovese Drug Store Chain, the leading retail pharmaceutical chain in the metropolitan New York City area, and they have just donated $1 million to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International (JDFI). They are asking their business contemporaries and members of the Long Island community to match the company's donation. "Can You Meet The Challenge?" They ask.
Representives from JDFI presented the Genovese family with a plaque for their generous contribution at an official press conference and holiday luncheon celebrated on December 2 at 12 noon at the Genovese Corporate Headquarters in Melville, Long Island. The luncheon featured Mary Tyler Moore, the International Chairman of JDFI, along with other distinguished guests, including Robert Wood Johnson IV, Chairman of JDFI, and Dr. James E. Mulvihill, President and CEO, JDFI.
The $1 million dollar donation to JDFI is in the memory of two Genovese family members who were victims of the disease: Joseph Genovese, Sr., died from complications of having the disease since age 57, and Joseph Genovese, Jr. died at the age of 47 after he was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of 13. Joseph Sr. was the father of President and CEO Chairman Leonard Genovese and Joseph, Jr., was his brother.
The deaths of Genovese family members have sparked this genuine call to action for the large, extended family, to help find a cure for this disease which threatens some 16 million americans. The $1 million contribution will go directly to JDFI's $200 Million International Initiative, "The Only Remedy is a Cure" Campaign to establish The Joseph Genovese Family Diabetes Research Program at Columbia University. The Campaign, which has raised more than $153 million since its inception in 1990, is the most ambitious research enterprise in diabetes history. It has pioneered partnerships between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and JDFI, teaming world-class diabetes researchers with top scientists in diverse disciplines such as molecular biology, genetics, immunology, transplantation, and cell biology. Working in established medical centers and research institutions, scientists apply their specialized knowledge to the study of prevention, better treatment and a cure for diabetes and its complications.
In addition to the $1 million dollar donation to JDFI, the Genovese family has also raised nearly $400,000 over the past four years through the annual JDF Walk - A -Thon. "It's a way for the Genovese family to give back to our communities which have supported us over the years," says Mr Genovese. Genovese Drug Stores, Inc., was founded in 1924 by Joseph Genovese, Sr., and has since grown to include 133 stores in the tri-state area.
Leonard Genovese believes he has a lot to be thankful for. "I am also grateful for the fact that our family has been successful in business, and perhaps most important - that we have our health today. What attracted me most to JDFI, aside from personal traumas my family has faced due to diabetes, is the fact that they are truly dedicated to finding a cure for
this dreadful disease. Hopefully, our donation will assist in this goal."
The mission of the JDFI is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. JDFI, with chapters from coast to coast and affiliates around the world, gives more money to diabetes research than any other non-profit, non-governmental health agency in the world.
JDFI is one of the many organizations which Leonard Genovese holds dear to his heart. He also serves on the boards of the National Center for Disability and St. Christopher Ottilie, both social service agencies in New York. His nephew, Lenny F. Genovese, an assistant vice president, serves on the board of JDFI for the Nassau-Suffolk Chapter.
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