JDRF One Walk honors Ron Santo, fights for diabetes cure

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (WLS) -- Thousands are joining an effort to raise awareness and funds to battle diabetes.

On Sunday, Oct. 3, they stepped off on the annual JDRF One Walk in Honor of Ron Santo.

Santo is the late, great Cubs star who spent his life raising awareness to find a cure for diabetes.

Walkers gathered at six different locations in Illinois. They included our own John Garcia, who has a special reason for taking part. He joined us live from the starting line of the walk in Schaumburg, Ill.

The goal of the Walk is to raise $4.2 million to help accelerate therapies that are key to moving towards a world free of Type 1 diabetes, like the artificial pancreas system, which automatically delivers precise insulin and multi-hormone therapy.

JDRF is the world's largest charitable funder and advocate for Type 1 diabetes research, currently sponsoring $568 million in scientific research across 17 countries. JDRF Illinois is the largest of 80 chapters around the world. To donate or find out more about JDRF go to www.walk.jdrf.org.