Today we’d like to introduce you to Veronica Shanklin. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Dementia Care Warriors founder and executive director Veronica Shanklin is on a mission to help caregivers live balanced and fulfilled lives while taking on the stressful and demanding job of caregiving.
Veronica’s caregiving journey began 9 years ago when she was a full-time marketing executive living in Chicago, IL. Her mother was back home in Dallas, TX caring for Veronica’s grandmother, who was living with Alzheimer’s disease. Caregiving from afar and visiting home, Veronica realized her mother was struggling in her caregiving role. Veronica made the difficult decision to leave her life in Chicago and move back home to Texas to help her mother take care of her grandmother. One year later, her mother also received her own Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
As a full-time caregiver for both her mother and grandmother, Veronica was challenged to find programs and resources that supported young adult caregivers. No one looked like her at any of the support groups and resource events she attended, but she knew she couldn’t be the only young Black caregiver around. Frustrated with the limited number of resources for caregivers in her demographic, Veronica founded Dementia Care Warriors in 2019 to provide resources and education for underserved dementia family caregivers. Founded by a caregiver for caregivers, DCW was created to be a grassroots boots-on-the-ground solution for caregivers. Dementia Care Warriors expands on a blog Veronica founded in 2015 at the beginning of her journey, veemyselfandi.com, where she provided encouragement, humor, and a wealth of knowledge gained in the trenches navigating this sometimes confusing and often uncertain journey.
Over the past 9 years, Veronica has developed a passion for caregiver support, Alzheimer’s awareness, and advocacy. She has served on the Board of the Greater Dallas Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and Your Brain Matters women’s initiative leadership committee. She is also a dedicated volunteer and community educator and speaks at events throughout the year. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Community Council of Greater Dallas and AWARE Dallas and as the chair of the Dallas Area Agency on Aging Advisory Board. Her advocacy efforts have taken her to the Alzheimer’s Association Advocacy Forum in Washington, D.C., and Austin, TX on several occasions, where she met with legislative representatives to advocate for increased research funding and legislative support for Alzheimer’s disease. Her caregiving story has been featured in O Magazine, Ebony Magazine, Southwest Now Magazine, The Dallas Morning News, I Heart Radio, WFAA Dallas, and several other media outlets.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As an early-stage non-profit, the road has been slow but productive. As we work through our 4th year, we have developed critical relationships with several community partners and continue to expand our programming to impact as many caregivers as possible. However, as a 100% volunteer-run organization with minimal financial resources, we rely on the support of our board and the community to make our work happen.
With a 20+ year career in marketing and event production, the non-profit world is new to me, and so growing the organization has come with a learning curve. I am a sponge when it comes to mentorship and soaking up as much non-profit leadership guidance as possible.
I am currently a member of the Dallas Truth and Racial Healing Black Women in Non-Profit 2023 Leadership Cohort. The Black Women in Nonprofit Leadership Cohort was developed to support Black women who are recognized as top leaders within the nonprofit sector. The program offers innovative strategies and leadership, helping members make a significant impact on the communities we serve.
As the founder of this organization and a caregiver myself, I wholeheartedly believe that I am operating in my purpose. The dementia crisis in America is at epidemic proportions. I know there is work to be done, and I am confident and have full faith that over time, as we grow our organization capacity and social impact, the resources and partnerships we need to be successful will come.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Dementia Care Warriors is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area founded in 2019 by Veronica Shanklin. Dementia Care Warrior’s mission is to provide non-medical assistance and resources to underserved caregivers caring for those living with Alzheimer’s and related dementia. Our programs are based on the three tenets of: respite scholarships, educational programing, and community building.
DCW offers a range of services, including respite scholarships, caregiver and community education, Dementia Live® dementia simulation program, connection to resources, Titan Tuesday interview series, and a fun and laidback monthly caregiver support group. By providing these resources, Dementia Care Warriors helps to alleviate the burden on family caregivers, who often face significant physical, emotional, and financial stress in caring for a loved one with dementia.
Our signature event is our Annual Revive Refresh Caregiver Brunch and Workshop. After 2 years as a virtual event due to the pandemic, in 2022, we were finally able to host our first Revive Refresh event in person, and it was a blast. We hosted over 50 dementia family caregivers and got nothing but rave reviews on how helpful and supportive the day was for attendees. Caregivers were pampered with a delicious brunch, a live DJ, party vibes, swag bags, engaging workshops, and local resources! From that event, United Way of Tarrant County and their Area Agency on Aging asked DCW to bring Revive Refresh to our neighboring city of Fort Worth, TX. We expanded the event this year to take place in 2 cities with larger venues, bigger partners, and an increase in attendance to have an even greater impact on area caregivers. Through this event, we have helped over 140 caregivers with support and resources to help them on their journey.
Our next Revive Refresh event for dementia family caregivers will be held in Dallas on August 5th. Visit the event website at reviverefresh.org to register today.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
There are 3 main ways to get involved!
1. Donate – Support our mission to help dementia family caregivers via a one-time gift or our monthly giving program via our website
2. Volunteer – As a volunteer-run organization, DCW is looking for individuals and groups to assist with upcoming events and programs. We are also in need of long-term skills-based volunteers in the areas of finance/accounting, digital marketing, and development.
3. Corporate Sponsorship – We partner with corporate and community partners to fund educational and social initiatives and events for dementia family caregivers.
Contact Info:
- Website: dementiacarewarriors.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/carewarriors
- Facebook: facebook.com/carewarriors
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-care-warriors/
