Diabetic himself, Tim walks for cure

Timothy Carey started marching in the Walk to Cure Diabetes when he was six.

Twelve years later, he's still marching -- only now, he has hundreds of people and thousands of dollars behind him.

"We're looking for a cure. That's what we want, and, yeah, it's a lot [to ask for]. But, without money, we don't even have a chance," said the 18-year-old parishioner of St. Catherine of Siena parish in Albany.

Recognition

Since 1992, raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has been a calling for Tim, a Bethlehem Central senior who is graduating at the end of June.

He has raised $56,000 on his own and is the founder of "Bethlehem Cares," a town-wide diabetes walk team that involves hundreds of marchers, their friends and the businesses they frequent.

For his efforts, Tim was awarded the 2004 Albany Zonta Club's Jean M. Coon Humanitarian Award, given every year to a high school junior or senior who exhibits a commitment to community service.

Personal interest

Tim's interest in this cause is partly personal: "I've been diabetic since I was four-and-a-half."

His family was "blindsided" by the onset; no one they knew had contracted the disease before. All of a sudden, Tim's parents had to give him insulin shots four times a day and keep constant tabs on his blood sugar level.

He attended Camp Joslin, a Massachusetts sports camp for children with diabetes where campers learn about how to take care of the disease from a counseling staff, 75 percent of whom were diabetic themselves. His weeks there led to the first time he was able to give himself a shot. He eventually returned as a volunteer and a counselor.

Town crier

At first, Tim and his family marched in the annual walk in Albany, along with people who "would come out with their family and friends," he said. But he soon realized that much more money could be raised if there was a greater sense of support. Thus, the "Bethlehem Cares" team was born.

With his father's help, Tim began writing letters to the editor and to businesses, asking them to sponsor the team with donations and team t-shirts. Some businesses agreed to sell Diabetes Walk "sneakers."

Fifty people turned out the first year for the walk; now, 200 pound the pavement on the big day in September. They have raised more than $100,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation through the march. Tim reckons the total funds raised through that and other efforts to be near a half-million dollars.

Family example

Tim is thankful that his family has been behind him during the years he's been involved with the march, saying "they support what I an doing. That means a lot to me."

Much of what the Careys do -- whether it's the diabetes walk, going to church or visiting the homebound -- is a family effort. On the invitation of his father, Tim began to visit shut-in parishioners of St. James parish in Albany, where his grandparents attend church. He has also visited parishioners of St. Catherine's who are in nursing homes.

"Typically, they are extraordinarily happy to talk to someone," Tim explained. "You're bringing them a lot of happiness. The look they get on their face makes you glad you went."

Faith factor

Tim, who was confirmed last year, says that his Catholic faith has helped him to gain a greater sense of responsibility.

"It's a good way to grow up and a stabilizing part of life. It's a constant, and it's always somewhere you can go," he said.

He'll need that resource next year, when he enters the 3+3 program at The University at Albany and Albany Law School. He will spend three years at the former, finishing a history major, and will then move to the latter to pursue a degree in law. He was inspired to apply to the rigorous program by his father, who is a lawyer.

"I see what he does, and it's something I would like to do," Tim said.

In his application submitted to the Zonta Club, Tim wrote: "Community service is never all about me, but, rather, all about someone else."

He told The Evangelist: "You do community service because you want to help someone else. I raise money for diabetes because I want to see a cure. I believe I do a little more than most people, but I believe there's more I'm capable of. I wish I could do more. There's not enough hours for me."

(In high school, Tim played varsity volleyball and ran track; he also coaches youth baseball and holds down a part-time job at a local supermarket. He wears an insulin pump -- a surgical device that constantly keeps his blood sugar level stable -- and must check that level seven times a day as well as undergo regular testing. "Everybody thinks it's a beeper," he said of the device.)

(6/17/04)