From Caregiver to Changemaker: How Purpose and Community Create Lasting Impact

Thank you for joining the Professional Quotient Podcast, Conversations that Build Equity. These conversations are meant to really lift people up and help them put their best foot forward in the professional world. And it's brought to you by our sponsor MarketScale, best foot forward by turning their subject matter experts into content creators. So be sure to check them out. And now we are going to have a conversation that builds Equity with a very special guest. Welcome to The Professional Quotient. I'm your host, Jason Winningham. And today, we have a very special guest, Veronica Shanklin. Veronica, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. Would you like to take a second and introduce yourself to us and our listeners? My name is Veronica Shanklin. I am the founder and CEO of a Dallas based nonprofit called Dementia Care Warriors. And our mission is to provide resources and support to dementia family caregivers. We do this through respite breaks, community education, and just all around support groups and support for dementia family caregivers. And so that's something that I'm really passionate about because I am a full time caregiver of my mom. And I also was a full time caregiver of my grandmother. So I know firsthand what caregivers are going through, and it has driven this passion within me to support dementia family caregivers. So I did a calculation recently, I said, I have put in over twenty thousand hours of caregiving over these years. It's a random that I just figured out recently. That's a huge number. And it certainly talks to and showcases just how much resources it takes to care give. As far as founding this, so you shared that you're caregiving for your mom and you care gave for your grandmother. So obviously that ignited your passion in this space. What led you to decide to start a nonprofit? So I think it was just the lack of resources in the community. So ironically, I was on the board of the Alzheimer's Association for a period of time. And so even before Dementia Care Warriors, I was really active in this community. When I started as a caregiver, I'm just kind of a researcher by nature. And so I immediately went online and started trying to find help support. Where can I find this? Which is how I ran up on the Alzheimer's Association. But it just wasn't really a lot of grassroots, like boots on the ground type of support, which is what we provide. So like, while the Alzheimer's is amazing organization, of course, I think we serve more of the caregiver next door. So I wanted to see the caregivers in my community be able to benefit from resources and support. And so that's kind of where this started. It actually started with support group happy hours. Before I even had the 501c3, I had a few friends who were also caregivers. And so we started just gathering at a local Mexican restaurant over tacos and margaritas and support and just leaning on each other and sharing resources and information. So that's pretty much how this started and it's grown into the organization we have today. Can you talk to us about why do caregivers need to have something like a happy hour to support? Talk to us about that need. So this is just a really isolating and lonely journey. And it also can be very complicated because you're dealing with someone's health. I mentioned recently, I said, we are living every day to try to keep someone alive. And that's just the most frank way I can put it. You're making sure they're fed, you're making sure they have their meds, you're making sure they're active, you're making sure they're clean. And we have zero training in that. Like the majority of caregivers are just thrown into this role without any education, without any training. We're not nurses. We're not doctors. And so it's just a very hard disease to manage. And so having support groups and having resources and having education are the way that I see that caregivers can thrive in their role and not just survive. And that's so important. Thank you for sharing that. And can I ask what then led to that development? So first you're meeting as a happy hour group, and you're seeing that power and coming together and sharing best practices or probably just emotional relief as well. So what prompted that, hey, we need to formalize this into something stronger, something bigger? That first year that I was hosting support groups, I believe it was twenty nineteen. That's actually when we got our 501c3. Earlier that year, I've been hosting support groups. I actually did an event with Alzheimer's Association at my church, a caregiver conference. And I decided I wanted to do my own caregiver conference. And so I partnered with a local adult day service center that my mom and my grandmother had gone to and just started that conversation because there are things that I felt needed to be done within these education spaces and within these workshops, conferences, symposiums that If build it yourself. You know? And so having been in that space for so long, I hadn't seen anything like this. And so I wanted to create a day that was just to pour into dementia family caregivers with the most, and also a fun day. And so started looking into that as an angle of ways that I could support, but also needing to financially support that if I'm in a big And then again, still doing support groups. Just my own research led me to say, I think the best route to do this would be a nonprofit. And some people say you could have done a for profit, but I'm not really selling the services. Like, the education, you it's not something that, you know, that we're selling. So something that we're giving to the community. Sure, absolutely. And it seems like this is, I would venture to say that it seems like it's in the right space, because for profit seems like you're trying to, I don't know, fleece people out of things. And when you're trying to support caregivers, seems like that that's in the, I don't know, that seems right to me. But So what would you say, if you don't mind sharing, what was the differentiator between the conference you went to and the conference you held? So a lot of caregiver conferences are really people talking at you. There's really not the community feel. You know what I mean? My volunteers are amazing and they really bring people into our community and make them feel welcome. So first of all, you're going to get a hug. You're going to feel that community when you come into anything dementia care warriors related. So there's care giving support that feels like family. I mean, for whatever reason, these other organizations don't necessarily offer that. So there's that, There's the engagement of, again, interactive workshops, that because we want it to be a fun festive environment. This is minor, but I always have a full catered brunch. So not just box lunches, and I want caregivers to feel celebrated. I want you to leave this event feeling like I can do anything. I'm so glad I attended that. And also connect with other caregivers while you're there. There's opportunities for that. We have a free massage therapist. We do blood pressure screenings and just all about pouring into the caregiver. And that's not something I necessarily see in in other spaces. I see more just education. Here's a speaker. Thank you for coming. Good luck. It sounds like you've built up a really cool thing. And I would venture to say that those that are going through that daily caregiving of their loved ones don't often get a day where they just get to be celebrated and engage with others one to one like that. So thank you for providing that. That's awesome. And as a founder of a nonprofit, I even am nervous to ask this question, but do you have a typical day or what does your typical week look like if you don't have a typical day? I think it's funny, and my journey is a little different because I'm also a full time caregiver. So not only am I working here in my office, but my mom right now, when I get off, I'm going to go feed her lunch. So my days are pretty different depending on if I have someone to sit with my mom, meetings. I was so grateful for The people hate Zoom, but it has been really good for me, especially during the pandemic because I did so many presentations and had so many meetings and did so much just from my office right here on the computer. And I didn't have to get someone to watch my mom. I could just build and do everything from home. So a lot of my work is done right here in this room. And I don't. It's hard to say. I don't have a typical week. I have seasons that are more busy than others. So our big August event, so leading up to that, that summertime is crazy. And now we're leading up to November National Family Caregiver Month. So this is a big time for us. And then it'll kind of die down in winter and then pick back up. Okay. So what are you ramping up towards November? What do you have to do right now to prepare for that? So we're getting ready for National Family Caregiver Month. We have an annual benefit that kicks off the month on November first. And talk a little bit about that or Sure, why not? So the benefit is called Faces of Care Warriors. And this is our third year doing it. And we select ten caregivers and their loved ones and bring them in and do a professional photo shoot with them in a photo studio and again, make them the stars for the day. So we take these amazing photos, we blow them up to exhibit size in black and white. And then we kick off the month with a photo exhibit celebrating these caregivers. And so that's what we're doing on November first. And then we partner with Dallas Public Library for kind of an awareness campaign, and we host the exhibit in Dallas Public Library spaces over the month of November to raise awareness to the community around caregiving, around Alzheimer's, around dementia care warriors, and just getting the word out about This group of people, this fantastic group of people. This year, we're also we've produced a docu short, Call Forward that will be premiering community, possibly across the country, over probably the next season. But it is about Alzheimer's and caregiving in the community and about the DCW story. We interview caregivers and again, awareness, educating the community, and just getting the word out there about. This disease. So you've shared basically one observance throughout the year, one month, November. And your sharing of that, I heard a number of logistical details that would have to be done, like connecting with the Dallas Public Library, connecting with the photographer, connecting with your caregivers. Are you doing all that on your own? Are you leveraging a team of people? The majority of it is on my own. I do have a part time assistant who is great and not local. So a lot of that is online and communicating with her. I have, again, an amazing team of volunteers on-site at these events. But leading up to this stuff is pretty much me. Also in November, we celebrate the whole month. So we have a caregiver reset yoga event. We have an education workshop. We have a webinar series. And that's me over here putting it all together. But it really is comes down to resources. You know? Like, as a nonprofit, you need support and resources in order to pay a staff. True. So where this is headed. Well, it sounds like you have some good project management skills in order to accomplish something so big like that. And I'm curious, is that something, have you always been good at reaching out to people and getting things launched and doing projects like that that are so massive? Or is that something that you had to learn while you were doing it? So in a former life, I was in marketing and branding and events. Okay. That has given me a great foundation for this organization. So I didn't have the nonprofit and fundraising experience, but I do have the marketing and branding and event experience. And we are really heavily event based and event focused. Sure. So that has been really a great place to build from. In the beginning, I did our logo, I did our website, I did our social media, all our marketing materials. And so having that skill set to be able to do these things yourself when you have little to no budget has been really helpful. So that's my background brings me into this to be able to do it. And are you still tackling all those things or have you offloaded some of that to your part time assistant? I actually offloaded a whole rebrand last year to a marketing consultant. So And did that feel comfortable for you to let go of or was a little like, ah. It was it was was challenging. I was still heavily involved, but it did feel nice to take that off my plate. You know what I mean? And I'm pretty self aware in many areas of my life. And so I knew that while I was doing the website and all the branding and stuff, I really was kind of piecing it together. You know what I mean? Like Sure. Yeah. That's to be done. Let me grab this. This needs to be done. So it's nice to have a full package brand that we now have that was done by someone else. So I I do outsource. To, you know, fractional staff and things like that on occasion. Like, bookkeeping is not my strong suit. As a nonprofit, we definitely need that element. So I have an outside contracted bookkeeper, things like that. Leverage the experts when and where we can, because we don't have to do it all. It certainly feels that way when you're founding something and you're starting something off from the ground up. But even there, hopefully, and I don't say this to you, I say this to our listeners, hopefully, if somebody's trying to lift up their own, they will look to see where they can find help and leverage it because it can be a little overwhelming when you're doing everything yourself. Yeah, can. And it's, and I'm in year six, so. So you've had a few years to kind of get your groove going. Would you say that the first couple years or or when would you say you felt like you were hitting a groove rather than still navigating everything for the first time. Uh-oh. I'm I'm still I'm still getting in the groove, Jason. Still getting in the groove. Okay. Okay. Fair enough. Fair enough. I mean, I have some great learnings under my belt. And, again, the thing about these events now, was year six for Revive Refresh. This is year three for Faces of Care Warriors. I've been doing support groups the whole time. There are some learnings with that, but my mind is always turning on how I can make everything better. Sure. And can you share with us, as long as we're talking about this nonprofit, Where is this local? Is this like to DFW? Is this national? Tell us a bit about that. Currently it's local to Dallas, but something else that we have and that we just launched is an online community called CareWarrior Connect. So the goal is to because now we get contacts from outside of Dallas. I'm sure. Can you help me? And I'm like, I don't really know anything in Kentucky. But this allows us to have an online space, an online community where caregivers from anywhere in the world, honestly, can come into a space, can access our online resources and where caregivers can connect with each other. And I think that's really big about this online space and just what caregivers need Because again, like I said in the beginning, it's very isolating. You don't necessarily know someone else who's going through this. And you touched on it earlier that the video conferencing ability really serves as a great accommodation for those who are caregiving, because it does allow them that flexibility to engage with others out outside of their home while still being present for their loved ones there. So love that you're able to kind of flex that into a virtual aspect for people, because I know people are needing that assistance of community, if nothing else, and knowing they're not alone. So thank you for doing this, and thank you for launching that, and providing a space for so many people. Absolutely. Thank you. Absolutely. And within the Professional Quotient Podcast, we always like to focus on those aspects that I call our professional equity, our skills, our knowledge, our experience, our education, and our community or network. And really, like to ask our guests, which of those things do you feel is most valuable to you, at least right now in your career? All of them, but specifically. Definitely community. I'm really big on community. I really have built this organization through the community that I have built since moving back to Dallas. So again, I was in Chicago for ten years and built a community there. And then flipped that and moved here and started over from scratch, basically. And so the community that I've built, the partners, the sponsors, the caregivers, I think are really critical in moving dementia care warriors forward. And then My passion. So I have this passion for this cause because of my personal experience and because of the purpose that has been developed in me over these last eleven, twelve years of caregiving. Those are two big ones. Absolutely. And you mentioned that you had to form community in Chicago and then again in Dallas. So that kind of prompts a question in my mind, how do you go about building community? How like, how are you looking for people or or knocking on doors so to speak? Because I doubt they're really knocking on doors. So I think about networking events. I think about just putting yourself out there. I've just been really blessed to meet some really good people and really supportive people over time. And then doing the work. When people see that you're doing the work, when people see that you're genuine, when people see that you are really about this, then they want to support, they want to be a part of the community, I think is really And I'm also really big on mutually beneficial relationships. I am not out here networking just so I can get something from you. What can I do for you as well? It's something to keep in mind when you're networking, when you're meeting people, how can you help them as well? I think that genuine interest in wanting to help really resonates with people and it creates more authentic relationships from the get go. Are there activities that you do to continually raise your PQ? I don't know. I mean, back to building that community and just putting yourself out there. I might drag my feet a little bit, but as far as reaching out to people, so even like I have a special person that's going to be a part of this year's Faces of Care Warriors photo exhibit. And I sent them a message, sent them an email and said, hey, do you want to be a part of this? There's a wellness lounge in DeSoto. I want do it. I want to do an event there. I just want to stop by and met the owner and talk to him. So just not being afraid to put yourself out there because all people can do is say no, and then you move on to the next person. So I think that building that community, I think you learn from your community, like it all kind of works together. Have you always been bold in making ass like that and not being afraid to hear the word no and keep moving? No. Actually, feel like some of this has come from having an organization and having to do that. You want want to move forward, you kind of have to do that. My venue for Revive Refresh this year, I reached out online. I called. I reached out to other people in the community who I thought might know someone there. Nice. Because once I get my mindset on something, I'm going figure out how to do it. So But I was not getting any response. So one day I just said, hey, I'm just going to go up there and just talk to somebody. So yeah, just not being afraid to reach out and ask for what you need and what you want. And if they say no, then moving on to the next person. I think that's valuable advice for everybody in their roles, no matter what their professional roles are. So that's a great little wisdom nugget. Thank you. Also on this show, we do focus on challenges that we've overcome in the professional landscape, really specifically to help those who are coming up after us. Are there any challenges that you've overcome in your career that you don't mind sharing with us? I think I'm like a toddler in this nonprofit space, you know, like, so I'm still figuring it out, and I think that can be a challenge is that Because I don't have the nonprofit leadership experience, Something that has been helpful with that is I take advantage of every free opportunity I can find. So I have been in cohorts, I have been in fellowships. We were in the United Way Social Accelerator, Black Women in Nonprofit Leadership Cohort. There's a JLH Fund that was I am constantly, constantly looking for ways to learn more about this space and where I'm lacking, finding more resources, etcetera. So I think my challenge has been Again, my background is marketing, branding, events. And my background is not necessarily nonprofit leadership. So I have done so much over these last six years to learn as much as I can about this role. Sure. So you're a continual learner, it sounds like. Yes. Always looking for opportunities to learn. Absolutely. And Veronica, if somebody is listening to this episode and they are also wanting to start a nonprofit, what advice would you give them now that you're six years in? Think long and hard. This is not easy. I think the advice that I give is people for some reason, people think there's money in this. They think that people are just throwing money at us. And I don't know where they get that idea. So first of all, that is not necessarily the case, number one. It takes a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of sweat and tears. I think you have to be comfortable with slow growth. That is something that I have learned and am learning, that nothing happens overnight. I mean, some point, maybe you get that big hit or you get that big donor who's like Here is a million dollars, but that does not happen often. You have to be comfortable with slow growth and like and discontinuing to put in the work and continuing to help the people that you are here to help. You know? With the with the faith that, you know, this will grow to be what you dream of it to be. Sounds like you really have to have a passion for it to go through what sounds like very hard work. Yeah. Yeah. The early stages. And again, I have benefited because of my past experience. And because knowing how to do a lot of things with regards to building the business from my past life help save money in this beginning phase of starting this business because I can do most of it. Well, I appreciate that. With all of our guests, I love for them to have an opportunity to shine a spotlight on anything they like. Is there anything you would like to shine a light on? I think I've covered several things, but just to reiterate, dementia care- Absolutely, please. Dementia Care Warriors is a resource for dementia family caregivers in the Dallas area, we have support groups, we do education, we amplify the voices of dementia family caregivers. And so I want us to be known for that. I want people, if you are a caregiver, feel free to reach out to us. And then the work that we are doing with the docusort with FORWARD, it's called FORWARD. I'm thinking that will be more information about it by the time this comes out. Not really sure. But yeah, definitely visit our website, dementiacarewarriors dot org. Follow us on social CareWarriors to learn more and join our community. It's a fun place, I promise you. It'll be beneficial to you on your caregiving journey. Well, we certainly appreciate you spending time with us to educate us about what's available. And really, just have to say thank you on behalf of all the caregivers out there for what you're pulling together and doing, at least in the Dallas area, and also on the virtual one as well. So appreciate all of your passion. I think it really shines through in what you do. And just have to say again, thank you for your time here today. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you for allowing me to share our story. Absolutely. And to our guests out there, I just want to remind you that if you've enjoyed this conversation, you can like, share, review, and subscribe to it. And also remember that unlike our IQ or our EQ, we can really easily raise our PQ every single day. We just have to keep learning, building and connecting. Until next time.