Most people can go out and raise money for an organization, but it’s the ones like Diana McCreery who not only raise money, but want to make a difference and help people. Diana is the youngest of 4 kids and the first in her family to go to college. Her parents emigrated to the U.S. in the 1960’s from Colombia. Unfortunately, Diana lost both of her parents to cancer. Her mother had pancreatic and liver cancer and her father passed away from lymphoma and colon cancer.
A couple years ago, Diana got involved with The Make a Wish Foundation and St. Jude after a friend’s son died from brain cancer at the age of 8. “I saw what they did for him and the impact that it has on the other kids and the family that I felt I needed to be a part of it. I remember my friend sitting in her office with two big black trash bags of hospital bills after being dropped from her insurance company not knowing how everything was going to get taken care of. St. Jude stepped in and helped in ways that were amazing. It had a huge impact on me.”
Diana also volunteers with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and in 2016 was a candidate for Woman of the Year. The mission of LLS is: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Seven days a week for 10 weeks, Diana went out and raised money on behalf of LLS. She would put together auction baskets, host events, find sponsors, whatever she could do to raise money and help those in need. Not to mention she was planning her wedding at the same time she was campaigning! Diana did all of this because she wanted no other families to have to go through what she had to go through losing loved ones. She had a saying in those 10 weeks, “In this lifetime,” because Diana believes that in this lifetime we can find a cure for cancer.
Diana balances all things in her life with very little sleep and lots of coffee! “It just seems like if I really want something then I find the time no matter what. Sometimes I have to pick one of two things because they fall on the same day, but overall I find the time no matter what. I just don’t want to miss out on anything.” Diana wants others to know that if there is something you want to do, or a cause that is important to you, do it. “Get involved. You don’t have to have a lot of money to be able to give. Giving of your personal time, it’s just as important as financial giving. Sometimes even more important. Don’t underestimate the value in that.”
To find out more about these great organizations, please visit www.lls.org/central-ohio; www.stjude.org; www.oki.wish.org