Diabetes Is No Joke
Canadian Comedian Spearheading Awareness Campaign
TORONTO, Updated 3:12 p.m. EDT May 29, 2000
Popular Canadian comedian Rick Mercer is lending support to a less than humorous cause.
The star of This Hour Has 22 Minutes today announced his support for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation of Canada.
Mercer was on hand for the organization's key fundraising event -- the Shoppers Walk for the Cure -- at Coronation Park in Toronto.
He is spearheading a national campaign to create awareness about the seriousness of the disease and its complications -- which affect more than 2 million Canadians.
Mercer says he knows personally how damaging diabetes can be and has watched a family member suffer from the affliction.