Blue means a lot in our community. We cheer blue, we bleed blue, and Blue-Out football games at Beaver Stadium have shown the healing power of blue in our community.

Blue is also the color that’s used to raise diabetes awareness throughout the world. Every year on Nov. 14, more than 1,000 buildings in moer than 80 countries are lit in blue to raise diabetes awareness in observance of World Diabetes Day — because just talking about diabetes statistics doesn’t get people’s attention.

One of the problems with diabetes is that it doesn’t “show.” People who have diabetes look a lot like you — a diabetic person typically doesn’t look “sick.” But almost 26 million Americans have diabetes. That’s about 1 in 12 people or 8 percent. Statistics, yes but think about it this way the next time you’re in line at the grocery store: 1 of 12 people you see has diabetes. It may be you or a family member but if not, there’s someone within eyeshot who has diabetes. That goes for almost everywhere you go. Whether it’s the gas station, bank, church, restaurant or a football game, 1 in 12 people near you has diabetes. Think about how many people living with diabetes there are in Beaver Stadium on a football Saturday. So whether or not you are one of the 1 in 12, your life is affected by diabetes because someone you know and likely someone you care about lives with diabetes.

In 2008, a small group of locals got together to take on diabetes in our community. We all either had diabetes, lived with or cared about someone with diabetes or were involved in diabetes health care. We knew we couldn’t cure diabetes but we thought that by raising diabetes awareness, we could bring all in our community to work together to make the Centre Region a more diabetes-friendly and healthier place to live. We call ourselves People Centre’D on Diabetes and we’ve been working through this monthly column, our website ( www.pcod.info  ), our speaker’s bureau and in partnership with local institutions, businesses and organizations to get the word out.

Since 2009, the Centre County Commissioners working with PCOD have declared Nov. 14 World Diabetes Day in our community and the county courthouse is lit in blue that day. Since 2010, PCOD has partnered with State College ACE Hardware to sell blue light bulbs that can be used in porch lights and window lamps on Nov. 14 to light our homes in blue. ACE also makes a donation to PCOD for every bulb sold. If you light your home in blue, join others who do and register on the PCOD Blue Light map on our website. Other area buildings that have been lit blue in prior years to mark World Diabetes Day include the Bryce Jordan Center, the Corner Room and Allen Street Grill, the Autoport, Hoss’s Steak and Sea House, Old Mud Church in Philipsburg, and Mount Nittany Medical Center.

This World Diabetes Day, Mount Nittany Medical Center is offering a “Live Well” program open to the public (Nov. 14 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.) featuring a talk by Barbara Rolls on weight management. Various clinicians and community organizations that work on diabetes prevention and management will have health information tables at the event. Please contact Mount Nittany Health at 234-6727 for more information and to register.

PCOD invites you to take on diabetes in our community, light your house in blue and to come to Mount Nittany Medical Center on Nov. 14 to learn more about living healthier in our community.

Got diabetes — take it on in blue!

Sue Trainor is a founding member of PCOD. She works as a nurse practitioner and certified diabetes educator at Mount Nittany Physician Group. PCOD welcomes everyone in the community to join. The next meeting in State College is Nov. 17 from 6 to 7 p.m. Email pcod@ pcod.info for directions.