Bell Employee

Joseph Zastrow

Duluth, MN

Nonprofit Organization

Juvenile Diabetes Foundation

The Need

Look at Margaret, and you’ll see a typical teenage girl – but to her parents, she’s a champion.

“We call her that,” explains Margaret’s dad, Joseph, branch manager at Bell Bank’s Duluth Heights location. “We call all type 1 diabetics champions, because they are. They have to live with this disease day in and day out.”

Joseph says he and his wife, Sarah, experienced years of lost sleep, worry and concern after Margaret was diagnosed with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes at age three. Fully supportive of their daughter, the couple also learned that for diabetics, “it really comes down to them having the courage and strength to take control of their disease.”

When Margaret turned 12, her dad recalls, she turned a corner, telling her parents she wanted to take a more active role in managing her disease.

“I want to take a lot off your shoulders,” Margaret said. “I want to make it easier for you, Mom and Dad.”

While Margaret has an insulin pump, monitoring and managing the disease is still a constant process.

“You want to think about having fun with your friends, going to school and doing all your extracurricular activities,” Joseph says, “but there’s always this other thing on the side, dealing with that on a day-to-day basis. She does a fantastic job with it.”

One special place that has helped Margaret for the past 4 years is Camp Sweet Life. With a mission to “connect, empower and then transform kids that have type 1 diabetes,” the summer camp serves more than 200 campers every year, all with type 1 diabetes. With medical professionals on site, kids do all the “normal” camp activities, as well as actively learning diabetes management, in a safe environment.

Thinking about the sense of community and lifelong friendships Margaret has also gained at Camp Sweet Life, Joseph knew that’s where he wanted to donate his $1,000 in Pay It Forward funds.

The Impact

When the Zastrows dropped Margaret off at camp, Joseph came ready with a donation check for the facility. Camp leaders were very appreciative.

“These funds help provide medical supplies, the necessary staff and an excellent program that’s a true testimony to what a great thing Camp Sweet Life is,” says René Maes Jr., director of Camp Sweet Life Adventures. “I can’t say thanks enough to Bell Bank and to Joe and Margaret.”

The Zastrows have already sent in an application for next year in hopes that Margaret herself can become a Camp Sweet Life Counselor. It would be her chance to pay it forward, teaching and encouraging other kids as she passes along her own approach.

“She’s been a champion over the years,” Joseph says of his daughter. “We couldn’t be more proud.”