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CHARLOTTE – Thousands of walkers pounded the pavement on Saturday in search of a cure for juvenile diabetes.

Organizers of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Walk for a Cure say they’re hoping to beat last year’s total by raising $1.9 million, despite what the economy is throwing at them.

Officials with the foundation say 40 more U.S. children will be diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes each day. When one of Nekeisha Lindsey’s family members learned that they would have to live with an insulin pump for the rest of her life, it changed things for the entire family.

"Because now everybody is paying more attention to what we do, what we eat, how we do everything,” said Lindsey.

Nancy Bush remembers when her now 14-year-old daughter was diagnosed at 8-years old. “I felt like a steamroller had just rolled over top of me a couple times,” she said.

Finding a cure is why so many continue to support the annual four-mile JDRF walk at Carowinds. But raising money to find a cure is facing a roadblock.

Organizers say due to the economy, participation in walks around the country is down 10 percent. But parents like Bush say advances in equipment are evidence that a cure is coming.

"What these pumps do is just incredible, so it's like I don't want to stop trying to fund raise to find a cure because I know we are getting close,” she said.

Some 345 family teams participated in this year’s walk, raising some $700,000 preliminary funds. That’s up from 30 teams last year.

Final numbers on how much Saturday’s walk raised aren’t yet available.