We are endlessly grateful to our volunteers for giving their time to better the lives of those impacted by Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Our volunteers are truly the heart of the Alzheimer’s Association here in North Carolina.
In honor of National Volunteer Week 2020, we’ll be spotlighting a different volunteer from our Chapter each day. Today we are featuring…
Devon Newton
Devon, NC
What brought you to volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Association?
In 2017 I decided that I wanted to start doing more and giving back to a cause that I would feel fulfilled in serving. Prior to my involvement I wasn’t aware of the people in my extended family who were affected by Alzheimer’s, but as I began fundraising, I would receive messages from individuals who opened up to me with their stories. This organization gave me the opportunity to continue to coach the sport I love, as well as create events and fundraise to help bring awareness and debunk myths as it related to Alzheimer’s.
What volunteer role(s) do you have with the Association?
I am in my second year as a Head Coach for Team Brunette for RivALZ – Blondes vs Brunettes Raleigh! How Strong, BRU Strong! I also am the creator and organizer of Ballin’ for Alz, which is a multi-sport tournament that holds one event every 4 months.
The Alzheimer’s Association RivALZ® is a volunteer-driven event that engages young professionals in friendly but fierce flag football games around the country. This year’s game and fundraiser will take place on October 3, 2020. The event will bring together two teams of young professional women (and men) that are organized around age-old rivalries – East vs. West, Blondes vs. Brunettes, City vs. Suburbs – to tackle Alzheimer’s disease, the nation’s sixth-leading cause of death. The two teams aim to increase awareness of Alzheimer’s disease among a new generation.
What do you enjoy most about your volunteer role?
With Alzheimer’s being a disease that currently has no cure, it’s often easy to lose sight in why to keep pushing and fundraising. For me, Game day and seeing all those people on the sideline happy and knowing that they are there for Alzheimer’s is nothing short of amazing. Watching players develop together and create that team bond, being able to advance from just running around to lining up in a Wing T and running a flood concept to perfection and seeing the excitement and energy that they feel after doing it is what I enjoy most.
What piece of your role do you feel makes the biggest impact?
I don’t think a particular part of my role makes a bigger impact than another. The fundraising is just as important as the coaching, as the coaching is just as important as organizing the events that get people out and talking about Alzheimer’s. The role as a whole makes an impact and I couldn’t say that a piece stands above the rest.
If someone were considering volunteering with the Association, what would you say to them?
I’d tell them that in 27 years of life, I have done a lot and accomplished some of the biggest goals I have ever set for myself, but nothing has made me feel satisfied about the work I do in the same way that volunteering for this organization does. If someone said the only way they would volunteer was if they were the Head Coach, I would step down from my position because I know that the satisfaction they will fill is unmatched, and I’d do whatever it takes to have other people experience the joy I have.
THANK YOU, DEVON
Volunteers truly help move our mission forward. Interested in becoming a volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Association in NC?
Visit alz.org/get-involved-now/volunteer or call 800-272-3900.
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