SV teen plans diabetes charity walk
Seneca Valley teen Emily Cramer has dealt with Type 1 Diabetes for most of her life.
Diagnosed when she was 3 years old, she and her family have made injecting insulin, monitoring blood sugar levels and counting carbohydrates a part of their daily routine.
Cramer, 17, plans to raise awareness about diabetes as well as gather funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) through her senior project, a Type 1 diabetes benefit walk at North Boundary Park on Aug. 8.
“I'm fundraising for JDRF, because I not only believe in their vision of a world without Type 1 diabetes, but because this cause is a personal one,” Emily said in a statement.
The walk will be one mile on a paved walking path in North Boundary Park and will conclude with a raffle and social gathering. The event is sponsored by Firehouse Subs and Karski and Spokane Orthodontics.
The senior project is a graduation requirement at Seneca Valley School District. Emily is headed into her senior year this fall, and has always wanted to incorporate the walk into her final project.“For the project, a lot of kids job shadow, and some kids do fundraisers — it's a way to show self-improvement or something that you're doing for the community,” Emily said. “I was going to job shadow originally, but I have wanted to do the diabetes walk for the past couple years. I was just honestly looking for a way to bring people together to raise money.”With the help of her family, particularly her mother and sister, Kramer planned the event over the past few months. Her project mentor, Jen Hillwig, said that Emily has done most of the work independently.“She's doing a phenomenal job: She has been pretty much doing it all on her own,” Hillwig said. “I couldn't be more proud of her.”As her mentor, Hillwig is there to advise Emily on some components of the project, such as writing letters to local businesses to gain sponsorships.“I've known Emily since before she was born,” Hillwig said. “We were there when she was diagnosed, and we've been with her family this whole time, and I was flattered when she asked me to be her mentor. The fact that she wants to raise money to help kids like her is wonderful.”The event comes just at the right time for Emily, as the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions has made in-person events such as the walk possible.“Last year, I know a lot of kids weren't able to do what they wanted to do for their senior projects because of COVID-19, but this year everything seems to be going good,” she said.
Emily has dealt with people asking questions about her condition since she was young, but she says she doesn't mind educating people about it.“I have worked at the Cranberry Pool for the past three years, and it's surprising how many people ask me 'what is that?' because they see the pump on my arm,” Emily said. “Some people shoot me some stares and look a little confused, but I've dealt with people asking questions for a very long time. I don't mind answering. I kind of like it, so that people can learn more.”The American Diabetes Association's Camp Courage, a summer camp for children with diabetes, located at YMCA Camp Soles in Rockwood, Somerset County, has been a source of community and friendship for Emily in the past. She's attended for the past several years during the summer, and was on the path to being one of the diabetes counselors had the camp not closed for COVID-19 last year.“People often ask me what we do at the summer camp, and really, it's just a fun summer camp for a group of kids who are going through the same thing,” Emily said. “We do the same activities, but we have doctors there who can check our numbers: we have “check our blood sugar” circles. When I was younger, they would teach us about carb counting and the right ways to dose insulin.”She said Camp Courage has helped her feel less isolated in having diabetes.“I didn't grow up knowing many people with diabetes,” Emily said. “But when I went to camp, I met a lot of other people going through the same thing, and I didn't feel as alone.”
The event has already gained some attention. About 70 participants have signed up, and Emily is aiming for 75 to 100.“A lot of people have said they can come, and I've reached out to a lot of people from my diabetes camp, though some of them live far away,” Emily said.The format of the event was inspired by other diabetes charity walks, which Emily has attended many times over the years.“I've been to many different diabetes walks throughout the years, so I thought it would be nice to create my own walk,” Emily said. “It's going to be basically the same thing as a JDRF walk, just smaller. The JDRF walks are really big.”People interested in donating money can do so online or in person on the day of the event by cash or check.
