29 Friday , D ecem ber 17, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m By Melanie Cummings SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Every year that Emma Cloutier ages, sheincreases her fundraising goal tomatch. In January the young girl with type 1 dia- betes will turn six, which means she aims to generate $6,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Canada. In keeping with the season, the crafty gal is selling personalized, decorative snack plates for children to leave out laden with cookies or car- rots for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. The dishwasher-safe, non-toxic plates cost $15 each and the proceeds will help children like Emma work to conquer the autoimmune disease that affects her. Emma and her mom, Christina Marineau, will personalize the plates for other special occasions too, such as St. Patricks Day, birth- days, Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day even for the first day of school. Four years ago, at 22 months old, Emma was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Constant thirst and a vast amount of peeing were the tell- tale signs that precipitated the medical finding. Shortly afterward, Emmas parents, Marineau and Peter Cloutier, were told their daughters blood glucose measurement was four to eight times the normal level. A typical blood glucose measurement is between six to 12; Emmas had skyrocketed to 49. Her own body cant make insulin without help, so her mom and dad have become her pancreas, monitoring her blood sugar level with four to six finger pokes per day, counting her carbohydrate intake daily and administering three needles of insulin each day. Its a challenging disease, said Marineau. Everything affects her sugars, so as a result, we have to live a very scheduled life. Thats why the family does its utmost to fund research. From age two, Emma and a team of support- ers have participated in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk to Cure Diabetes in Streetsville. Each year Emma has met or exceeded her fundraising goal and this year she aims to do the same come the day of the walk on June 12, 2011. Each year, Emma has set as as her fundraising goal, $1,000 for each year of her age. For the 2011 walk that means a target of $6,000. As the goal increases each year our creativ- ity around fundraising must as well, said Marineau. This year Emma came up with the idea to sell personalized Santa Claus snack plates for children to leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve. The proceeds from these plates will go to support the 2011 Everyone for Emma walk team. Last year 19 people joined Emma, her mom and dad, and little brother Zachary on the walk. They are supportive relatives, friends, cowork- ers especially those at Peters workplace, Weichert Relocation Resources and class- mates from West Oak Public School where Emma is in Senior Kindergarten. The money the team raises is making an impact, said Marineau. An artificial pancreas is almost at the human trial stage. The pilot will test a machine that delivers insulin to the pancreas through a pump after it receives a message from a blood glucose monitor. For Emma it would mean a life less compli- cated by finger pokes, blood tests and carbohy- drate counts. To order a Santa snack plate, call 905-465- 1887 or e-mail chrismarineau@sympatico.ca. Emma steps up to the plate against diabetes LivingOakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN Phone: 905-337-5560 Fax: 905-337-5571 e-mail: ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com ALL SET FOR SANTA SNACKS: Emma Cloutier, 5, is selling personalized Emma's Plates plates on which to leave cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve as a fundraiser in support of research into diabetes. NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER