Diabetes Forecast Magazine - Teamwork: Banding Together To Tackle Diabetes
Hi Everyone!
We wanted to share with you this article featuring MJ2 in the December 2011 Issue of “Diabetes Forecast” Magazine. Here is an excerpt of the online version. Click the link to view the article on their website! http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2011/dec/teamwork-banding-together-to-tackle-diabetes.html
There really is strength in numbers. Look at these success stories...By Tracey Neithercott
Let’s get something out of the way: MJ2 is a musical group made up of twin sisters, their mother, and her twin. And, yes, there’s a Mollie and Jackie in each set. Confused yet? Team captain, at least where diabetes is concerned, is 22-year-old Mollie Singer, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 4 and became a diabetes advocate practically overnight. By age 5, she and her twin, Jackie, who doesn’t have diabetes, had already raised $2,000 for diabetes research in one summer—on a lemonade stand. That’s small beans compared with what the twins have raised since then: about $750,000. “The truth is, they felt a calling to do what they were doing, which was to be that active, that out in front of the disease, and to help however they could,” says Jackie Singer, the twins’ mother. As 6-year-olds, they were lobbying senators and Congress members. At 10, the girls founded Diabetic Angels, which has blossomed into an educational resource and community for people with the disease. And as if all of that weren’t enough, the girls, along with their mother and aunt, decided to take on Nashville. After signing with a record label, the group joined its producer in a hunt for musicians willing to donate their time for charity. The result: “You Can’t Say Love Enough,” an MJ2 song featuring 18 stars, including Dolly Parton. With support from producer Dennis Money, who also has type 1 diabetes, MJ2 is donating the proceeds for diabetes research. “I was just overwhelmed and humbled that all of these people could come together for one cause,” says Mollie Singer of their debut single. Next up: a television debut. The group’s turning on the camera for an as-yet-unnamed reality TV show. Though the show will focus on the family’s music, it also won’t hide Mollie’s diabetes. If anything, it will prove the importance of a support system Mollie relies on so heavily. “They’re just there for me,” she says, “even if I just need a hug.” ----