Diabetes support group in need of new members

A community support group for people with diabetes is appealing for more people to join the group to prevent it from closing down.
The Diabetes UK Grimsby And District Volunteer Group faces the threat of folding by the end of the year due to declining membership. Only 13 people are currently members of the support and fundraising group, many of whom are elderly.
Secretary David Knighton said: “Membership has dwindled and costs are too much,” said group secretary David Knighton. “We do a raffle and a name card each meeting, but we are lucky if we break even.
“It is such a shame because it is a chance for people who have been through the same thing to meet.”
Knighton and colleagues are now looking to attract more diabetes sufferers in the area so that they can continue to offer valuable support and guidance, and raise money for diabetes charity .
According to recent figures published by Diabetes Health Intelligence and National Diabetes Information Service, annual rates of both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes in North East Lincolnshire are higher than the national average.
In 2012, nearly 8% of the region’s population was diagnosed with diabetes and this is expected to rise to 8.4% by 2020 and 9.2% by 2030.
The Grimsby-based group recently donated £2,000 to Diabetes UK. The money, which was raised from public donations and a small fundraising event, will go towards the charity’s diabetes research and support work.