WATERLOO - Kittrell Elementary School students took a walk Wednesday to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

"We have two students at Kittrell who are diabetic," said organizer Lena Simmons. Her fifth-grade son, Dylan, is one of the children. The other student is second-grader Zachary Heyerhoff, whose mom, Cindy, also helped organize the event. Some students collected donations for the mile-long walk, which took place along 11th Street and Ridgeway Avenue.

"We're just trying to raise awareness, and it kind of works in with their health curriculum," said Simmons.

The event was preceded last week by a lesson, taught by Simmons and Heyerhoff, where students in every classroom learned about the different types of diabetes. Students also heard a daily diabetics fact over the public address system.

Another component was the "diabetes for a day" activity in which the children were given a rubberband to wear around their wrists. They snapped the rubber bands against their skin at certain points in the day to simulate checking their blood-sugar level and getting regular insulin shots.

Simmons' goal was to ensure students have a better understanding of diabetes.

"I'm hopeful that indeed has happened," she said.

Contact Andrew Wind at (319) 291-1507 or andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com.