USPS News: Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 16, 2001 Stamp Release No. 01-037 House and Senate Caucuses Join Postal Service to Put Stamp on Diabetes Awareness Hill Event Celebrates Issuance of Diabetes Awareness Stamp WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service and members of the House and Senate Caucuses on Diabetes will join representatives from the American Diabetes Association and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International to celebrate the issuance of the Diabetes Awareness postage stamp on Capitol Hill April 24. The ceremony, which is open to the public, will take place at 10:30 a.m. at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Room #342, First and Constitution Avenues, NE. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and John Breaux (D-LA), Co-Chairs of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, and Congressman George Nethercutt (R-WA) and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), Co-Chairs of the House Diabetes Caucus, will also participate in the ceremony. “Our hope is that this stamp will help support and encourage diabetes education so the warning signs evident in both children and adults are no longer missed or mistaken for something else,” said Deborah K. Willhite, Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Government Relations for the Postal Service, who will act as master of ceremonies for the event. Joining Willhite will be guest speaker Benjamin Ocasio, Vice President of Diversity Development for the Postal Service. The Diabetes Awareness stamp was issued March 16 at a ceremony at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Mass. Actor John Ratzenberger from the former TV show “Cheers” hosted the event, and Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry joined Congressmen George Nethercutt and Michael Capuano as special guests. Diabetes is a chronic, genetically determined, debilitating disease affecting every organ system. Insulin is not a cure, merely life support. The disease kills one American every three minutes. There are two major types of diabetes: Type I (juvenile) and Type 2 (adult onset). Anyone at any age can get diabetes. Many people suffer life-threatening health problems because the warning signs are very often hard to detect or misdiagnosed. There is no cure, but there is hope through research. Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, amputation, heart attack, stroke and kidney failure, and it accounts for more than $105 billion of annual U.S. health care costs. One of every four Medicare dollars goes to pay for health care of people with diabetes. Since the mid-1950s, the Postal Service has issued stamps that highlight social awareness issues. Recent stamps include Organ and Tissue Donation, Prostate Cancer Awareness, Hospice Care and Adoption Awareness. All current stamps and other philatelic products, as well as a free comprehensive philatelic catalog, are available by calling toll free 1 800 STAMP-24. A selection of current stamps and gift items are available online at the Postal Store. # # #