In this T1D Exchange interview, Kyle Banks shares his personal T1D diagnosis story and journey in establishing Kyler Cares an organization inspiring hope and empowerment for children of color living with diabetes through education, support, and community.

Banks’ thoughtful responses and humble, kind-hearted demeanor reflect his unwavering commitment to helping others in need.

 

We understand people just don’t have the time to read through a lot of dense, complicated information. So, we incorporate animation, music, and storytelling to share complex ideas around medical education, because essentially, we’re little doctors taking care of ourselves.  

We just want to make all the things that we put out into the world fun. And so, that’s our approach.  

— Kyle Banks 

 

Performing on stage has been a central part of Kyle Bank’s successful career in entertainment. But something changed in 2015, when he began to experience physical symptoms, including increased urination, unquenchable thirst, unexplained weight loss, and extreme fatigue. 

“At the time, I was on tour with the Broadway cast of The Lion King in Calgary,” explained Banks, a professional actor and singer. After seeking medical care, he was initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and prescribed Metformin. 

Banks had a bumpy start with glucose management and had a hunch something wasn’t right. After a few months and a second opinion with autoantibody and C-peptide screening, he finally received a proper diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (T1D). 

“Initially, it was so hard to manage the effects of activity on my glucose while performing in the show,” he said. “I had to learn the hard way through crazy lows and all the anxiety it generated, especially with it happening so much. Plus, I was pricking my fingers like 12 times during each show.”   

So about six months into his complicated journey, Banks took some necessary time away and sought guidance from the diabetes team at the Children’s Hospital New Orleans. He hoped to understand how endocrinologists help active kids manage their glucose levels and possibly incorporate some of those strategies into his routine. 

“When I walked into the hospital, I thought I was just meeting Doctor Chalew, but the entire endocrinology team was sitting around the table,” he said with an easy laugh and a warm, comfortable smile. 

“But you know, they were excited to meet me because of my connections to The Lion King and what I do for a living, and they thought it would be great for me to connect with the kids and mentor them, which was wild, because type 1 was so new to me — and I still needed help figuring things out, myself.”  

“They shared how many of the kids were struggling, and kept emphasizing ‘kids of color,’” he said. Determined to find answers, he set out to uncover the “whys” and discover how he could help bring hope and encouragement to these families.  

That round-table conversation ultimately led to Kyler Cares, a non-profit organization established in 2019 based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The organization aims to empower children of color living with diabetes and improve health outcomes in underserved areas. Banks serves as the CEO.  

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As you laid the foundation for Kyler Cares, what were your goals? 

“Initially, it was just raising money to help people, specifically communities of color, access diabetes devices like insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors,” said Banks. “In the beginning, we were buying the technology outright — but that wasn’t sustainable.”  

Then, Kyler Cares shifted to supplying funds to help cover co-pays and deductibles associated with health insurance expenses.  

“We discovered there were a lot of people reaching out who didn’t even have health insurance coverage. So, we began to help them navigate that process, which also became part of the program.” 

 

Kyler Cares has cast a wide. Can you explain its impact on the T1D community? 

“We’ve expanded so much and people reach out from all across the country for assistance through our website and by applying for our grants through some of the programs we offer,” said Banks.  

While Kyler Care’s roots are in New Orleans, where it works with the hospital systems there, namely Children’s and Ochsner, the largest healthcare system in Louisiana — it has grown expansive connections with hospital systems nationwide, he explained. 

“We’re also piloting a diabetes management support program with New York City Public Schools that we developed in collaboration with the New York City Department of Health and the Department of Education.” 

“It’s exciting because we’re working with over 2,000 public school nurses in New York City. I’ve been connecting with them in meetings over the past few months and sharing the program with them, so they can connect us with the families they care for within the school system,” said Banks.  

“But just in New York City public schools alone, there are over 2,500 kids living with type 1 and another 500 plus living with type 2 diabetes. With this program, we partner with every pediatric endocrinology clinic in New York City and the five boroughs.” 

We also have a social worker on our team that works with social workers within the school systems, hospital systems, and Health and Human Services to make sure that kids who are experiencing housing and food insecurity issues have resources and support, because when families are in ‘crisis mode,’ T1D management immediately goes out the window.” 

Finally, they’re in the negotiation process with Detroit Public Schools to expand their school program to Detroit, Michigan, this fall. 

But Kyler Cares has been assisting families all along. “Families would reach out in need of a cell phone, for example, to connect with their child’s Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) system,” he explained. 

“With one family in particular, the mom wasn’t getting back to me. So, I reached out to the school nurse, and about three weeks later, I found out they were living in a domestic abuse shelter. And I was like, ‘How are they even getting his supplies safely if they’re in that situation?’” 

“It let me know that if we’re going to be working with this population of kids, we have to consider the extenuating circumstances that impact their ability to care.”  

 

Let’s talk about your success with funding for Kyler Cares 

“Helmsley is one of the first connections I made in the diabetes space,” said Banks, who explained that when he was getting started, he googled “children with diabetes” to “see what was out there.” This led him to Jeff Hitchcock’s organization — Children with Diabetes.  

Banks then reached out to Hitchcock, who kick-started his first connection to David Panzirer at The Helmsley Charitable Trust. “And David began to sort of mentor me,” explained Banks.  

“Our initial grant offering was $30,000. The following year, it turned into $150,000, and this year we opened up a grant for $1.4 million, which allowed us to hire our staff and dig into developing our programs.” 

“Other funders have come on board due to the publicity we’ve gotten from Helmsley’s investment in Kyler Cares. The Iacocca Family Foundation out of Detroit has committed $1 million toward our school program and our Kyler Cares Connect program, which we now use as our tech grant. It also incorporates health insurance navigation and disability assistance.”  

”Research is another area where we’re trying to get more people of color to participate because it’s important that our experiences are included as new therapies and technologies are coming to market,” said Banks. “It’s definitely one of our focus areas as well.” 

 

How do you make learning fun? 

When it comes to educational resources, Kyler Cares understands the difficulty most people have getting through dense, complicated information. “So, we incorporate animation, music, and storytelling to share complex ideas around medical education, because essentially, we’re little doctors taking care of ourselves.”  

“We provide peer-to-peer and caregiver-to-caregiver development and ensure it provides fun, joy-filled, and high-value moments that families would want to engage with,” he said. “We just want to make all the things we put out into the world fun. And so that’s our approach.”  

“Using my entertainment history plus my connections in fashion and beauty, and VPs at some of the companies we partner with, can make things exciting. One of the first things we’re doing out of the gate is collaborating with a bag company called Telfar,” said Banks. “The company is really popular, and whenever they release a new bag, it’s like mass hysteria.  

“With type 1, you have to carry a lot of supplies. Thanks to our partnership, kids in our NYC program will have access to a Telfar bag, and they’re really excited.” 

  

How does the power of community benefit those you serve at Kyler Cares? 

“Building connections has been so powerful. I think I say that a lot. Connect, connect, connect,” said Banks. “Connecting to industry, connecting to providers and the families they’re treating — and then connecting those families with one another.” 

“A lot of people that we initially interacted with weren’t connected with other people living with type 1 — and you know, it’s a lonely disease — and it can be overwhelming at times because there’s no break from it.” 

Banks explained that connecting families with one another and seeing the confidence build, especially when they see other kids wearing diabetes devices and engaging in their management in a beneficial way, and seeing how that rubs off on the kids, has been very impactful. 

“I think that’s helped us find success in terms of being able to encourage people to dig in and learn more about what they’re going through and all the things that are needed to take care of themselves properly.”