WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Tops Friendly Markets, a grocery store chain operating in New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, raised over $333,000 for the JDRF, formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

“Over the years in working closely with our partners at JDRF, we have seen first-hand the important role this organization plays in nearly every major advancement for diabetes. Whether it be in the form of drug, device, or cell therapy, made in T1D in the last 50 years, JDRF is the leading nonprofit fighting to find cures for T1D and improve the lives of those living with the disease today” said Frank Curci, chairman of the board and chief executive officer for Tops Friendly Markets.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the JDRF’s founding mission to cure type 1 diabetes. Tops says that since 1993, they’ve raised in excess of $13 million for the cause in a series of annual campaigns.

The Tops Annual JDRF Sneaker Campaign began Sunday, August 2, and ran through Saturday, August 22. Customers could buy paper sneakers—first designed by a Tops employee in 1993, and now widely recognized as a symbol for type 1 diabetes—at the register for a $1 donation.

The onset of type 1 diabetes can be sudden, and it impacts any age group. Patients suffer the effects of the metabolic disease every day for their entire lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that about 1.6 million Americans are affected, representing a 30% increase in two years. Medical expenses for people with type 1 diabetes can be three times as much as those for people without diabetes.