Valerie Cary: Supporting Critical Medical Research Efforts for More Than a Decade

It’s a chain reaction. A small group of people work with a nonprofit organization. They then recruit others to join. Over time a few volunteers become hundreds. This is how Valerie Cary, assistant to Dell’s chief financial officer, has made a difference in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes for 11 years and counting.

Hearing an acquaintance’s account of his own family’s experience with Type 1 diabetes and the great responsibility his young son had to shoulder — measuring blood sugar levels and administering the right insulin dosage — spurred Valerie to get involved in finding a cure for diabetes. With many Dell employees and their children dealing with the daily challenges of the disease, Valerie recognizes that JDRF’s research is crucial, and she is thankful to be able to play a part through her volunteer efforts.

But Valerie’s efforts to support meaningful causes don’t stop with JDRF. Another more personal experience led Valerie to devote time to LiveStrong. When her father-in-law lost his battle with cancer in 1999, Valerie and her husband knew the organization offered opportunities to support cancer research as well as cancer survivors. Avid cyclists, the two have been honoring their loved one and many others for more than 10 years through the LiveStrong Challenge — an annual event that offers running and biking options.

“Being involved in the community has heightened my awareness. I’ve become more grateful for all that I have and am humbled by how hard others work to make our world a better place,” said Valerie. “There are so many people truly living Mahatma Gandhi’s words: ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ I feel fortunate to have found several causes that I’m passionate about and rewarding ways in which I can do my part to help others.”