Larry Sands, Instructor in Business Administration, Accelerated Degree Program

From delivering meals to implementing what he teaches in the classroom, Larry Sands enjoys helping senior citizens.

Sands has been delivering hot meals to elderly shut-ins for the past three years through The Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA), the oldest and largest organization in the United States representing those who provide meal services to people in need. The recipients are very appreciative, says Sands. “Usually they are alone and just want to see someone with a smile on their face. It really makes you feel good.”

Sands also volunteers at the Lutheran Home at Topton, a senior living community in Topton, Pa. From providing a two-hour course on Total Quality Management for the staff to setting up personal computers for the residents, Sands says, “I like to help people move forward and improve their lives, and it makes me feel good that what I teach in the classroom can help people elsewhere. And who knows, I may be living there some day.”

“Helping senior citizens to improve their lives is something that I really enjoy doing.”

“I just want to get the word out there about Diabetes…Education is empowerment.”

Mary Ann Kern ’03, Systems Support Specialist,
Albright College

Diagnosed with diabetes in 2005, Mary Ann Kern ’03 immediately decided that she wanted to change her life.

“When I was diagnosed I wanted to learn as much as I could about it. It was the first time in my life that I started thinking about my mortality. I thought,‘I’m too young to die.’ At first I thought that I just couldn’t eat any more Krispy Kremes [donuts], but it’s so much more than that. People die from diabetes.”

Soon after her diagnosis in 2005, Kern assembled a team to participate in the Walk for Diabetes, held at Gring’s Mill in Reading, Pa., each fall, to raise both awareness and money to fight the disease. The following year, in 2006, Kern and her team, Snoopie and Her Loyal Beaglescouts, more than doubled the amount of money raised the first year. Now, gearing up for her third walk, Kern says she would be thrilled to double it once again.

“I just want to get the word out there about diabetes…the complications, the risks, the symptoms… Education is empowerment.” According to statistics provided by the Diabetes Association, 613 people die everyday in the U.S. from diabetes. “If I can change someone’s life,” Kern says, “that’s my ultimate goal.”