BOSTON and WELLESLEY, Mass., Dec. 5, 2017 – Sun Life has closed out the most successful year yet in the fourth-annual #SunLifeDunk4Diabetes fundraising campaign with the Celtics, raising a total of $80,000 for the Greater Boston YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program. Throughout National Diabetes Awareness Month in November, each Celtics dunk generated $1,000 from Sun Life, with the Celtics Shamrock Foundation matching $25,000. Hashtags on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram generated $1 each. Fans outdid themselves, blowing past a goal of 10,000 hashtags, raising additional money for the campaign. There was also some great dunk action on the court from Al Horford, Jalen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Aaron Baynes and Daniel Theis, all of whom contributed to meeting a 40-dunk goal for the month.
“This campaign has been a wonderful way to cheer on the Celtics, support the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program and raise awareness about the disease’s multiple impacts on health,” said Dan Fishbein, M.D., president of Sun Life Financial U.S. “Through education and lifestyle changes, these programs can greatly reduce new cases of type 2 diabetes. It’s important that we continue to support these community organizations.”
With the Celtics season off to a strong start, more fans got involved in #SunLifeDunk4Diabetes than ever before on social media, smashing the hashtag goal by the second week of November, and cheering on the Celtics’ amazing win streak.
“We are thrilled to have such incredible fans who not only cheer on our players, but engage so enthusiastically in our community programs,” said Ted Dalton, senior vice president of Corporate Partnerships for the Boston Celtics. “Sun Life has been a great partner in moving these programs forward and finding ways for the fans to be involved and make a difference.”
#SunLifeDunk4Diabetes has raised $290,000 since it started in 2014. The campaign is part of Sun Life’s growing support of the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program nationally, which Sun Life helped launch in Boston, Hartford, Conn. and Kansas City, Mo., in 2014. Since the program’s launch, more than 54,000 people have participated, at nearly 1,700 Ys across the country. Sun Life is also working with YUSA to bring the Diabetes Prevention Program to employers and their workforces.
“The support from Sun Life and the Celtics has been essential to continuing our Diabetes Prevention Program,” said James Morton, CEO of the YMCA of Greater Boston. “The program relies on partners like Sun Life who are focused on fighting diabetes and improving people’s overall health and wellness.”
Sun Life is strongly committed to the fight against diabetes. In addition to community support in partnership with the Celtics, Sun Life conducts a similar program with the Kansas City Royals, and maintains a partnership with the American Diabetes Association to support education and engagement initiatives. Sun Life also offers the Team Up Against Diabetes Grant Program, which funds grassroots organizations focused on diabetes education, management and support. To date, Sun Life has donated more than $17 million globally to the diabetes cause, and $1.8 million to programs focused on diabetes prevention in the U.S.
To learn more about #SunLifeDunk4Diabetes, visit www.celtics.com/SunLifeDunk4Diabetes or www.sunlife.com/usdiabetes.