Erica Cunningham is our amazing intern with JDRF One Walk Northeast PA. She’s the right-hand woman to Development Manager Bonnie Abrams, who is the staff lead for the Northeast PA and Bucks County Walks. Walk Day is fast approaching—this Sunday, April 29!—and thanks in part to Erica’s hard work and dedication, it’s sure to be a huge success.
Erica has been instrumental in recruiting businesses for the JDRF Sneaker Campaign, a point-of-sale fundraiser where a customer purchases a paper sneaker as a donation to JDRF. She has also secured gifts to be used as fundraising incentives for our Walk teams, and she is the lead for Walk Day volunteer recruitment. In short—she’s amazing!
Read below to find out what JDRF means to Erica.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am currently a student-athlete and senior at East Stroudsburg University—soon to graduate in May with a Bachelors of Science degree in Public Health with a minor in Health Administration. Upon completion of my undergraduate studies, I will continue my education at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
What brought you to JDRF?
During spring semester of my junior year, I became involved with JDRF for volunteering purposes. I helped out with fundraising and aided with development of the Walk in 2017. I really enjoyed working with JDRF last year, so I decided to apply for the internship! This experience has been rewarding; I have learned so much.
Why did you choose to volunteer as an intern for the Northeast PA Walk?
I chose to become an intern because, while helping out as a volunteer in 2017, I enjoyed how determined everyone involved was in instilling a change. I enjoyed the sense of community at the Walk, especially. I wanted to be a part of that and give more of my time to helping JDRF any way I knew how.
What is your favorite thing about being a part of the Northeast PA Walk?
My favorite thing about being a part of the Northeast PA Walk is being able to get more organizations and businesses involved in whatever way they can—either through sneaker sale campaigns, volunteering their time for walk day, or even by simply hanging a poster in their store. Seeing them excited and happy about volunteering is one of my favorite things.
Volunteering for JDRF has educated me greatly. I have learned so much more about type 1 diabetes and what a positive, dramatic impact JDRF has on the disease.
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You can still register for One Walk Northeast PA and start your fundraising now! Celebrate the start of your team with a day of fun at the Stroudsburg High School on Sunday, April 29.
Interested in office support? Event planning? When it comes to volunteering, the options really are endless. To learn more about donating your talents to support our shared mission to end T1D, please visit jdrf.org/get-involved/volunteer or contact the Eastern PA Chapter office at philadelphia@jdrf.org or 610-664-9255. You can change the future for people with T1D.