November 1, 2001
Staffer walks her way to compassion
The Combined Fund Drive runs through Nov. 21. Throughout the drive, University Week will feature faculty and staff who give back to the community by volunteering their time.
Name: Karalee Woody
UW position: Director, Student Access & Computing Group
Volunteer activity: Walking in the Avon three-day Breast Cancer Walk and the African AIDSTrek, a seven-day, 75-mile trek across South Africa
Time as a volunteer: During the three months prior to the Avon walk I raised over $2,000 in sponsorship for breast cancer research. For the AIDSTrek, I will spend about 6 months to raise at least $10,000 in donations, plus time to train for the Trek.
Why this activity? There are 34.3 million cases of HIV and AIDS worldwide. So far, 17 million people have died of AIDS; of those, 3.8 million are children. The fund raising gives me an opportunity to increase AIDS awareness and contribute toward a solution.
Memorable experiences while volunteering: Last year a very close friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. For her own healing process, she felt she needed to walk in the Avon Breast Cancer three-day and asked if I would participate with her. The walk was an experience of a lifetime, with 3,000 women and men walking 60 miles in three days to donate $2.5 million to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. By the end of the first day I was so sore and exhausted I wasn’t sure if I could continue. But, when I saw breast cancer survivors get up to walk the second and third days (knowing they’d already battled chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery) well you can imagine, my silly sore muscles were quickly forgotten. While those three days can’t possibly compare to having breast cancer or AIDS, it certainly went a long way to helping me appreciate what it is like to live every minute of every day with that.
Satisfaction in volunteering: Just knowing that I have contributed something. There are many needs, e.g., the homeless, ill, elderly, etc. If each of us just made a commitment to take one day this year to volunteer for something, we would have a huge impact on making the world a better place.
For more information about the Combined Fund Drive, talk to your local CFD coordinator or visit the Web site: http://depts.washington.edu/uwcfd.
