Jonas' Creative Crusade Against Diabetes

(CBS/ AP)  Nick Jonas wants kids and teens to know that they aren't alone in the fight against diabetes and that creative outlets can help cope with the disease.

The 16-year-old music sensation and the youngest member of The Jonas Brothers, who is currently on tour, doesn't let his Type 1 diabetes bring him down.

Instead Jonas has become a role model for many and copes with his diabetes through writing lyrics, performing and making music. He hopes that others with diabetes also use a creative medium to empower themselves.

For Jonas, some of the most rewarding accomplishments are as simple as having good blood sugar and putting on a good show.

"It was really hard to believe," Jonas told online diabetes resource dLife about first learning of his diagnosis. "It's a full life change."

In addition to lobbying in Washington on behalf of diabetes research, Jonas teamed up with Bayer Diabetes Care to empower kids through an "Express Your Simple Win Creativity Contest".

According to Jonas, simple wins are "small, everyday victories for managing diabetes that can lead to big differences over time."

In June of this year, Jonas lobbied Washington's power brokers on behalf of diabetes research, starting with President Barack Obama.

After the White House, Jonas headed off to Capitol Hill for a private meeting at the office of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.

The teen idol publicly revealed that he has Type 1 diabetes while performing at a Diabetes Research Institute fundraiser in 2007.

He testified before a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing on federal funding for diabetes research. Other witnesses include boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and actress Mary Tyler Moore.

The Jonas Bothers created the Change for the Children Foundation, which donates money to charities benefiting children who are disadvantaged or ill. They recently released their fourth CD, "Lines, Vines, and Trying Times."