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Kelly Schmidt is working to fundraise for a purpose.

“I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on my 8th birthday in second grade,” she told 10TV’s Angela An.

That was in 1991, when according to Kelly’s website, she learned the power of “food is thy medicine.”

But it wasn’t until Kelly’s senior year in high school when she says she found a new purpose: to make living with type 1 diabetes better for everyone affected by the disease. She is now a registered dietitian, speaker, author, and wellness coach.

Her goal is to guide clients with type 1 diabetes on how to live a life where diabetes is less hard.

She is hosting an invite-only pig roast she hopes to turn into a mini-fundraiser “to make this disease less hard and nonexistent.”

Kelly, who is also a JDRF Board member, said this is not just a mission for her — Kelly’s father also has type 1 diabetes.

JDRF Central Ohio will also hold it’s annual One Walk on Sunday, Sept. 29 at the CAS campus at 2540 Olentangy River Road. Check in begins at 9 a.m. with the one-mile walk starting at 10:30 a.m.

The goal of the event is to raise more than $600,000 for juvenile diabetes research.