Sometimes the most important moments at a company offsite have nothing to do with strategy slides or breakout sessions. At Glooko’s recent employee gathering in New Orleans, one of those moments came when Sophia Cano walked into the room and shared her story alongside a member of the national board of the American Diabetes Association.
Sophia is a young woman living with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Growing up, she had big dreams that included varsity sports, a college scholarship, a future built on hard work and competition. But her school couldn’t accommodate the needs of a student managing
T1D, and one by one, those doors closed. She missed practices, social events, and school days. The scholarship never came.
When Sophia finished speaking, the room was quiet. Then it wasn’t.
The Birth of Glooko Cares
The Glooko team has long felt a pull to give back through direct action in the communities most affected by diabetes. Sophia’s story gave us the spark we needed to formalize that instinct into something real.
Glooko Cares is our new company initiative rooted in the belief that improving the lives of people with diabetes isn’t just done through our technology, rather it’s also done directly within the communities we live in. Through Glooko Cares, we’ll identify meaningful opportunities to support individuals and communities with high diabetes needs, both nationally and locally, showing up in ways that go beyond our platforms.
Our First Act: Sophia’s GoFundMe
We kicked off Glooko Cares by rallying behind Sophia directly. We created a GoFundMe where the funds raised will cover the cost of the insulin pump she needs, with any additional donations going toward her ongoing diabetes supplies and expenses.
Glooko donated $4,000 to get Sophia a pump. But what about supplies? Well, we covered that too! The company matched every dollar employees donated, totaling more than $15,000.
- This is what our support means for Sophia:
- Freedom from workplace injection conflicts that put her job at risk
- Better, more consistent blood sugar management with an insulin pump
- Reduced financial stress around the ongoing cost of diabetes supplies
- A reminder that she is not navigating this alone
We are grateful to Sophia for her courage and generosity in sharing her journey with us. She did it because she hoped it might help someone else down the line, and she’s already helped us become a better, more purposeful company.
This is what Glooko Cares looks like. We’re just getting started!