Our Founders’ Story
Empowering kids with Type 1 Diabetes through sport, movement, and community.
With Gratitude
Elana, Michael & Gavin Hilf
In June 2024, our family’s world shook when our oldest son, Gavin, was suddenly diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) at just 13 years old. In those first days in the hospital, his biggest fear was losing the ability to be the active, sports-loving kid he had always been. As parents, we shared his fears but knew one thing for certain: T1D was not going to take away Gavin’s passions or his future.
We believed the best way to show him that was to surround him with others who understood exactly what he was going through. That summer, Gavin attended the Type 1 Timer Hockey Camp on the west coast of Florida just 6 weeks after his diagnosis, and the following summer he went to The Barton Center for Diabetes Education’s Sleep-away Camp Joslin in Massachusetts. What he found there changed everything. He came home with incredible new skills for managing diabetes, confidence, lifelong friendships, and a renewed sense of belonging. For the first time since his diagnosis, Gavin felt that T1D didn’t define him; it was simply something he would learn to manage while still chasing every dream.
Those experiences lit a spark. Gavin realized that if camps and community could make such a difference for him, he could help create something similar closer to home for other kids with T1D. Together, as a family, we founded T1D Allstars with a mission to empower children and teens living with T1D through sports, connection, and community.
T1D Allstars is built on one simple but powerful truth: Type 1 diabetes does not limit kids from playing every sport, making lasting friendships, or dreaming big. With the right support and tools, every child can thrive…not in spite of T1D, but alongside it.
Headquartered in Palm Beach County, Florida, we are turning our family’s journey into a movement of hope, resilience, and empowerment for kids everywhere living with Type 1 Diabetes, so that every child can truly dream big, with no limits.
Siblings Matter
T1D Allstars programs are designed for kids living with Type 1 Diabetes – but we also honor the love and encouragement that siblings bring to the journey. When one child is diagnosed, the whole family is affected, and brothers and sisters often play a powerful role as quiet heroes. They become encouragers, teammates, and sometimes even extra sets of eyes and ears in the everyday life of T1D.
Their support reminds kids that they are never alone and that diabetes is something a family manages together. For Gavin, that support has come from his younger brother, Tyler, who has been a constant cheerleader and source of strength. Tyler’s encouragement reflects the very heart of T1D Allstars: resilience built not only by the child living with T1D, but also by the family that stands beside them.