Local CEO Raising Money For Juvenile Diabetes Research
by James Coulter
Amanda Douglas, CEO of Celebration Title Group in Celebration, made an important announcement through a Facebook video. She thanked her followers for the donations they made to Juvenile Diabetes Research (JDRF) Central Florida through her company’s team, Bobby’s Bandits, which will be participating in an upcoming charity walk in March.
As the mother of a teenage son with Type 1 Diabetes, the charity walk, JDRF One Walk, is for a cause that is important to her, which is why her company has supported and donated to it for many years. Currently, her team has raised $5,000 slightly shy of their overall goal of $10,000.
“This is something that is true and dear to my heart,” Douglas said in her video. “It is a lifelong disease and something that requires a lot of funds and research and we are hoping to find a cure one day, so your donations go a long way.”
Amanda’s 14-year-old son, Bobby, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes four years ago. The disease requires him to take daily insulin shots and even wear an insulin pump, the costs of which can be quite pricey, she said.
“As a single mom focusing on the idea to spend hundreds of dollars [per month] to keep my son alive from this disease, it was something that I did not want others to go through and something I wanted to think about,” she said.
“Sometimes it is scary,” she said. “Sometimes you are worried about your child and learn how to adjust…And for ten-year-olds, it is rough and hard and a lifestyle change they have to make and try to stay on top of it.”
Ever since then, her company, Celebration Title Group, has been involved with raising donations for JDRF Central Florida, a non-profit organization that raises awareness and proceeds for juvenile diabetes research in hopes to one day finding a cure.
Each year, Amanda and her company tries to raise at least $10,000 to donate to JDRF Central Florida. They have also been involved with the annual charity WALK, which will be hosted at the University of Central Florida on March 7.
As the owner of Celebration Title Group, her company helps “redesign” the home buying experience, ensuring that it is a more hospitable experience for homeowners seeking to sell and close their old homes and purchase a new one.
“If you ever bought a home, or closed on a home, a title company can be stale and boring, but we make it a celebration, hence the name,” she said. “We understand it is a customer service company. We want to celebrate our customers closing in.”
Her company has since celebrated its four-year anniversary, having recently opened its ninth office with more than 40employees overall. Their company has experienced “growth mode” within the past four years, all the better to help give back to the local community through their donations to diabetes research and awareness.
So far, this year, they had 60 people sign up to walk, and thus far they have raised more than $5,000 of their $10,000, which they hope to eventually reach.
The staff at Celebration Title have also been committed and supportive of the company’s dedication towards juvenile diabetes research. They empathize with the experience of theiremployer’s son and the struggles that all people with diabetesexperience, and are raising money and awareness for the cause.
Amanda’s company has been extremely supportive in helping raise money for awareness and research. She hopes one day that the efforts today will make a difference for the future.
“So the walk will have a huge turnout, and hopefully we can help to make a big impact,” Amanda said. “It is something that effects families and young children. We want to help JDRF so the research funded can help other families and we will be able to turn TYPE1 into TYPEnone and a childhood based on needles and doctor appointments will be a thing of the past.“
For more information about the upcoming walk, visit their website: https://www2.jdrf.org/site/TR?fr_id=7920&pg=entry
