ConKerr Cancer Blog

Missy Pohlig Helps Conkerr Cancer       

Sunday, October 16, 2011

By Annie Hunter

It is safe to say that Missy Pohlig can do it all. Pohlig is a senior marketing major with a Spanish minor and an active member of Kappa Delta sorority. She is taking a full course load, has an amazing internship and has in total raised over 5,300 dollars for charity.

Pohlig was classmates with Ryan Kerr from kindergarten to middle school. She had no idea then that Kerr would one day come to influence her life and inspire her to give back. Kerr was diagnosed with cancer at the age of twelve and battled the disease for over six years. When he passed away, shortly after graduating high school, Pohlig along with everyone in the Wayne Pennsylvania community, was deeply saddened by the loss of such a happy, energetic teenager.

While Kerr was in the hospital, his mother Cindy Kerr tried to keep his spirits up by sewing him brightly colored pillowcases so that he would feel more at home. Ryan loved the pillowcases so much that Cindy decided to start making them for all the other children in the Oncology Unit at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. From this Cindy Kerr began Conkerr Cancer, A Case for Smiles.

When Missy was elected VP of Community Service in Kappa Delta Sorority she thought of Cindy Kerr and all of the wonderful work she does for children with cancer and decided to incorporate Conkerr Cancer into Kappa Delta’s community service efforts. “I really wanted to use my budget for this charity,” said Pohlig.

During Kappa Delta Cares week last fall, Pohlig organized a sewing event at the Stamp Student Union where local girl scouts came. With help from the KD sisters, they sewed pillowcases for the Children’s Hospital in D.C. Pohlig also organized a Kappa Delta parents dinner to raise money for Conkerr Cancer. 

In the end Pohlig was able to raise over $4,000 from the parents dinner and over 60 pillowcases were sewn. “Cindy had no idea at the dinner that we had raised all this money for her,” Pohlig said. “When I presented her with the check she was totally shocked.”

The event was such a success that this year, the new VP of Community Service for Kappa Delta is going to continue what Pohlig started. “May legacy is the pillowcase event, it’s such a unique way for our chapter to support a local charity and girl scouts,” Pohlig said.

This past summer, Pohlig was selling flowers for Conkerr Cancer in Philadelphia when she ran into Cindy Kerr. Shortly after their encounter, Cindy asked Pohlig if she would like to intern for Conkerr Cancer. Missy jumped at the opportunity to get more involved and began interning for the organization.

“I fundraise for her and do all the clerical stuff that Cindy doesn’t really have time for,” Pohlig said. “I also do some marketing, it’s really fun.” As an intern Pohlig works about 10 hours a week, mostly from her computer now that she is back in College Park. “ I think the reason Cindy likes working with me is that I was classmates with Ryan, it just shows how many lives he’s touched,” said Pohlig.

As an intern Pohlig has made some major contributions to Conkerr Cancer. At the Conkerr Cancer pillow case mini golf classic Pohlig took it upon herself to form her own team and raised over $1,300 for the organization by asking friends and family to sponsor her. She also took the initiative to strike up a deal with Groupon. “I got in touch with Groupon and they really liked our charity so we’re probably going to do something with them in 2012,” said Pohlig.

Currently Pohlig is busy preparing for this year’s Kappa Delta Cares week starting October 22nd. This year she will serve as the Conkerr Cancer Chairman and host a pillowcase-sewing event at the Kappa Delta house on College Ave. “It’s going to be a great event but I’m still looking for sewing volunteers,” says Pohlig. 

While most college students barely find time to balance their schoolwork and their social lives, Pohlig manages to balance it all while still finding time to give back to her community.