Winston-Salem, NC, October 23, 2009 – Members Credit Union (MCU) raised $9,035 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes. In the three years MCU has participated in this event the credit union has amassed nearly $27,000 in donations.
“I’m extremely proud of our members’ and employees’ generosity even in these rough economic times,” said Wendy Blakley, MCU’s Director of Member Services. “We are committed to helping our community and comforted by knowing that such a large portion of our contributions go directly to diabetes research.”
JDRF is the top charitable organization for funding type one (juvenile) diabetes research worldwide, and uses more than 85% of their budget to support research and research-related education. JDRF’s mission to find a cure for juvenile diabetes and its complications has resonated with MCU employees primarily because of personal connections to the disease.
“When you’re young, you just want to be a kid. Diabetes won’t let you just be a kid,” commented Blakley, who witnessed the hardships that her sister, Lynn, endured after being diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. “It was impossible for her to understand why she had to have three shots a day and get her finger pricked six to ten times a day.”
Blakley is one of many employees who have seen first-hand the effects of juvenile diabetes. According to research conducted for JDRF, forty children per day are diagnosed with diabetes in the U.S.
“My granddaughter, Sara, was six years old when she was diagnosed with type one diabetes,” explained Deborah Sayers, MCU Member Services Representative, who single-handedly collected nearly $2,200 for JDRF this year. “She once asked her mom, ‘does God have something against me?’ That’s my motivation.”
“Our members can see our passion, and that makes them want to help,” said Christina Marler, MCU teller. Marler, along with fellow MCU teller, Renae Jones, purchased 72 JDRF-branded teddy bears in an effort to raise money.
“For every $10 donation that we receive we are sending a special JDRF bear to Brenner Children’s Hospital so that it may brighten the day of a patient,” explained Jones. “This way, we are directly touching the lives of diabetes patients in our community.”
Community involvement is not a new concept at MCU. As a four-time first place recipient of the prestigious NC Credit Union League’s Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Award, MCU has been regularly recognized for corporate citizenship.
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About Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes research worldwide. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. For more information on JDRF please visit www.jdrf.org.
