The PADRE Foundation was founded in 1985 by John Haretakis, owner of Spires Restaurants who's 5-year old daughter Nikolina was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. The Haretakis Family was devastated by their daughters' diagnosis, so John set out to educate himself about diabetes. After visiting numerous facilities across the nation, John created the PADRE Foundation with the support of Dr. Bruce Buckingham, CHOC Children's and other faithful individuals with hopes of providing other families, like his, with the educational information necessary to live successfully with this disease.

A small sparkle of an idea that started with Johns daughter diagnoses has grown into a galaxy of diabetes education and youth event programs, family support and research for new treatments and untimely a cure for this chronic and lifelong condition.

Today with a small group of dedicated individuals on the PADRE Foundation Board of Directors and it's Staff we continue to make a difference in the lives of children with diabetes.