Lori and Ben Cornell

Ben Cornell, 14, from Bemus Point, and Emily Dickey, 16, from Lancaster, have been chosen by JDRF — the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes research — to join a delegation of 160 children and celebrity advocates in Washington, D.C. this summer at the JDRF 2019 Children’s Congress.

The children, ages 4 to 17, represent all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Joining the U.S. Delegates will be five International Delegates traveling from Australia, Canada, Israel, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Together, the Delegates will help to convey to the Federal Government that T1D is a global problem that requires a global effort.

The delegates in JDRF’s Children’s Congress enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gather in Washington, D.C., to meet face-to-face with some of the top decision-makers in the U.S. government, to help members of Congress understand what life with T1D is like and why research to fund life-changing therapies until a cure can be found is so critical.

They speak up on behalf of the millions of people living with T1D and the families and friends who love them. The delegates will be lobbying their members of Congress to remind them of the vital need to continue supporting T1D research that could reduce the burden of this disease and ultimately find a cure.

After Cornell was diagnosed with T1D at age 10, his parents had his three younger brothers tested for T1D autoantibodies, and his younger brother Zach turned out to have four out of five of them and ended up also being diagnosed with T1D. Now the whole family is incredibly involved with the JDRF Western New York Chapter, where their mom is a board member. They’ve participated in JDRF One Walk events, the Journey to a Cure Gala, and Annual Conference. This past year, they raised $6,000 with Ben as the captain of their JDRF One Walk team “It’s all about Benjamins, Zach and a Cure.”

Cornell is an eighth-grader at Maple Grove Junior Senior High School and thrives with a long list of athletic pursuits, including: cross country, football, wrestling, basketball and track.

He is also very musically talented, playing the guitar, bass, drums and piano — particularly enjoying the First Covenant Praise Band. And he doesn’t stop there. On the leadership front, he has been involved with Student Council for several years and looks forward this summer to serving as a national delegate to the JDRF Children’s Congress in Washington, DC.

His parents, Chuck and Lori Cornell, can hardly keep up. His younger brothers, Nate, Zach and Nick, adore him so.