Skin Grip, which makes adhesives for keeping diabetic sensors in place, is offering 25 $1,000 college scholarships to students with diabetes. Applications are due by February 1.
Skin Grip’s motto is “live fearlessly,” and the company helps diabetics do just that with their ultra-strong patches and tape that keep diabetic devices secured to the skin. The company is announcing its annual scholarship, which helps students persevere through the challenges of diabetes to earn college degrees.
Skin Grip’s scholarship funds 25 $1,000 awards for students with diabetes. Applicants must be high school seniors, undergraduate students in a two or four-year degree program, or graduate students. To apply, they must create a video of two minutes or less showing how they live fearlessly with diabetes.
“College is expensive as it is, and diabetes heaps on even more costs,” said Isaac Parkinson, Skin Grip founder. “There are doctor visits, insulin, and diabetic devices like continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps. We want to help relieve the financial burdens on students with diabetes so they can thrive in college.”
Skin Grip got its start when Parkinson was inspired by his brother to create adhesive patches for the Dexcom G6 and other diabetic devices. His brother was diagnosed with diabetes at a young age and dealt with many day-to-day challenges, including having his diabetes sensors fall off of his skin and get lost or damaged. To date, Skin Grip has served 40,000 diabetic customers and prevented them from having to spend an estimated $15 million on replacement sensors.
“It’s hard to exercise and even sleep when you’re afraid you’re going to lose your continuous glucose monitor and have to spend a lot of money to replace it,” said Parkinson. His company’s proprietary patches and tape keep diabetic sensors in place whether the user is swimming, running, or sweating at the gym.
Scholarship winners from past years hail from all corners of the country and have unique stories about pushing beyond the limitations of diabetes. One high school senior from Texas studied graphic design and became the editor-in-chief of his high school yearbook while battling not only type 1 diabetes but also scoliosis and hyperthyroidism. A winner from Maine powered through her daily diabetes challenges to become the captain of her school’s soccer and speech teams and serve as the student body president. Yet another winner experienced homelessness as a child in Louisiana and is now using her Skin Grip scholarship to become the first college graduate in her family.
“We’re very proud of these Skin Grip scholarship winners who show that diabetes doesn’t need to keep you from living an active and full life,” said Parkinson.
Enrollment for the Skin Grip diabetes scholarship closes on February 1, 2023. Winners will be announced on March 1. The scholarship is just one of Skin Grip’s many initiatives to benefit the diabetic community. For example, on the 11th day of each month (commemorating January 11, 1922, when insulin was first used to treat diabetes), the company donates 100% of website profits to a diabetes-related charity of their customers’ choice.
To learn more about Skin Grip adhesives and their charitable giving, visit www.SkinGrip.com.
About Skin Grip
Skin Grip makes strong adhesive tapes to keep monitors secured to the skin so that diabetics can participate in their favorite activities with peace of mind. They offer patches for all types of glucose monitors and insulin pumps.