Jerry the Bear 2.0 - Diabetes Awareness Month

We have a new colab with Diabetes NZ and this time, it's for the kids.  You don't have to be a diabetic to have this bracelet - the back of it is blank and ready for all your personal information to be engraved.  The difference is, all the profit from the sale of this bracelet goes back to Diabetes NZ.  

Jerry is well travelled. Before he came to Aotearoa New Zealand, he had already been to many countries. An earlier iteration of Jerry even met Barack Obama when he was President of the U.S. Designed by Sproutel in the U.S., Jerry is the result of a group of engineering students who wanted to create an interactive learning tool for young children. The originators found that kids with diabetes would make-believe that their existing soft toys had diabetes.

Just as they had to prick their own finger, they might ‘prick’ their toy’s paw, pretending to test blood-sugars. Jerry’s designers found that children were mirroring their own lives by re-enacting the routines that they experienced every day with their own diabetes. And through involving Jerry in their daily lives, children can change their perception of diabetes.

Children become caregivers to Jerry, suddenly elevated to the same level as their parents, thereby feeling that they have more control over the situation. The feeling of control makes them feel less alone if they can see that a cuddly bear is on the same journey as they are. Jerry the Bear has been used as a learning tool outside the home as well – in schools and early childhood education centres. This is where Jerry can educate the wider community, breaking down diabetes in a way that kids can easily understand.

You can Shop the Jerry bracelet here.  

You can read the full article in Diabetes Wellness Magazine here.