Mt. Lebanon Teen Targets ZIP Codes For Diabetes Cure

Monica Oxenreiter, a sophomore at Mt. Lebanon High School, thinks big when it comes to raising money for diabetes research.

With her Zip the Cure campaign, which she launched on World Diabetes Day in November, she aims to bring in a whopping $4.2 million for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation by raising $100 in each of the more than 42,000 ZIP codes in the United States.

Zip the Cure's Web site -- www.zipthecure.com -- shows her progress. A yellow map of the United States is colored green in the ZIP codes where $100 has been donated.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10035/1033221-55.stm

Zip The Cure: Mt. Lebanon Teen Takes Creative Approach To Fighting Juvenile Diabetes

Talking with Monica Oxenreiter, you have to remind yourself that she is only a sophomore in high school. The confidence in her voice and the wisdom in her words suggest she's far older. Perhaps her battle with juvenile diabetes, which began when she was just a baby, has given her a strength and poise that most teenagers have yet to develop.

This month, with encouragement from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Monica is launching a nonprofit organization called Zip the Cure. Her idea is wonderfully simple: If the people in each zip code across the country gave just $100, a total of $4.2 million would be raised for diabetes research. That modest goal -- getting entire communities to raise just $100 -- could create a windfall large enough to make real progress in fighting a disease that is striking a growing number of children across the country.

Link: www.popcitymedia.com/forgood/zipforthecure1111.aspx

Link: www.zipthecure.com