Hallowell Elementary Fifth-Grader Organizes School-Wide Fundraiser for His Brother

He’s a brother, a best friend and a baseball enthusiast.

But, when first-grader Dylan Butterworth, 7, was diagnosed with juvenile Diabetes two years ago, it gave big brother Eddie, 10, a new role: Advocate.

Like his T-shirt from a recent Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation walk, it’s a duty Eddie wears proudly.

“I hope to cure his Diabetes in his lifetime,” Eddie said with a smile.

And, he’s gotten a good start, at least in the fundraising department. Eddie, a Hallowell fifth-grader, spearheaded a school-wide effort involving the sale of bracelets and paper sneakers to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Principal Steven Glaize said the four-day donation drive, which was held during lunch periods, netted $410. Students also set up a table and sold wristbands and sneakers Tuesday during the school’s annual Race for Education event, pushing the total raised to well over $500, Glaize said.

“He was such a champion,” Glaize said of Eddie.

The boys’ mother, Amy Butterworth, said her sons raised a combined total of more than $3,000 from various restaurant fundraisers, basket raffles and donations. The Butterworth family – comprised of “Dylan’s dream team” – walked on his behalf in JDRF’s 5K Fun Run last month in Philadelphia.

All of the contributions will be given to JDRF, an organization Mrs. Butterworth likens to a “lobbyist” for those afflicted with juvenile, or Type 1 Diabetes. The hope is that the money can fund research to make advanced technology a reality as people like Dylan wait for a cure.

In the short-term, Mrs. Butterworth said she wants to create greater awareness of juvenile Diabetes – particularly in the midst of American Diabetes Month in November – so people don’t view Dylan as different.

“He’s just like us,” she said. “He’s not wearing a cell phone on his waist. It’s an insulin pump.”

In true big brother form, Eddie helps out with his brother’s medication too.

“I check his blood sugar,” Eddie said, adding that the diagnosis and periodic checks were scary initially. “We’ve got to know how many carbs are in a serving size.”

That is until Eddie Butterworth leads the charge to cure the chronic disease that ails his kid brother.