SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 ISSUE
Today’s Care, Tomorrow’s Prevention
Live United Volunteer Spotlight—WYN’s Kendal McDevitt
Kendal McDevitt has volunteered with the Western Youth Network (WYN) for the past two years. Volunteerism puts her passion for kids to work, ìBecause I don’t just wear the shirt, I live it.î Photo by Corinne Saunders
Editor’s Note: High Country Press is supporting the Live United campaign by spotlighting volunteers in our community. For the duration of the series, volunteers come into our office, pick up their Live United t-shirt and tell High Country Press their views on volunteerism and what they contribute to the community while encouraging others to make a local impact, as well. This week, we focus on Kendal McDevitt, a board member at WYN, which is a United Way funded partner.
Kendal McDevitt said she is inspired to volunteer by two separate visions of the world—how it could be if everyone contributes what they can to the welfare of others and also, the vision of the world if people didn’t volunteer or help each other, a much darker picture. “Because we are interdependent, our action or lack of action impacts everyone,” she said.
A beekeeper for the past three years, McDevitt’s desire to volunteer also comes from witnessing the cooperation of the honeybees and knowing that efforts of humans, too, are interconnected.
“I definitely think of the honeybees a lot when I think of volunteer work because they all contribute,” McDevitt said. “One bee in and of herself can only make 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime, but all the bees together create gallons and gallons [of honey] for us to eat and for them to survive.”
Originally from Asheville, McDevitt earned a master’s degree in psychology with a focus in dance therapy while living in Boulder, CO. McDevitt completed internships in substance abuse and worked as a substance abuse counselor when she first moved to the High Country in 2002, she said, adding that she currently works as the coordinator for ASU’s Office of Off-Campus Community Relations.
McDevitt is serving her second year on the Western Youth Network (WYN) board and her boundless passion for kids and volunteerism exemplify the Live United strategy, on which United Way of America is focused this year. The three components of Live United are give, advocate and volunteer.
“Everybody that advocates or volunteers is special and is making a difference in his or her way on the quality of life for us all,” said High Country United Way Executive Director Linda Slade.
Live United is about caring for the community and is not necessarily related to the High Country United Way, Slade said.
“We can either create a world where we have a culture of care where we actively support each other or we can choose not to act and choose not to intentionally create this kind of supportive culture,” McDevitt said.
“Kids are our future,” she added. “Taking care of kids to me is similar to taking care of the planet for future generations. We need to take care of them, give them love, new activities and positive role models. We [at WYN] would rather spend money on the front end in prevention rather than on the back end, when kids are incarcerated or involved in crime.”
WYN offers the only after school program for middle schoolers in Watauga County, and this program serves 133 students in Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties. WYN’s mentoring program serves 82 youth and its substance abuse prevention programs, which are given at local schools, benefit 792 students, McDevitt said.
The mentoring program has a waiting list, she added.
“How many of us have succeeded at anything we’ve done without a mentor?” McDevitt said. “Mentors are asked to connect with kids; learn about them, provide them with an ear and a caring heart. They might shoot basketball or take a hike. Oftentimes [the activities] are led by kids and their interests.”
Mentors develop a bond with children, some of whom are considered at-risk, to fill a void left by less-than-ideal family situations at home, she said. Many of the kids come from single-parent homes and the parent may not have time to talk with the child about his or her day or have time to participate in activities or to develop such a bond with them, she said.
To the same effect as the after school program, a summer program offered through WYN provides opportunities for students to spend time with peers and participate in positive activities, such as going to a water park or hiking that they may not have been able to do apart from the program, McDevitt said.
“[Kids] have so much wisdom and so much creativity,” she continued. “I feel like I learn from them all the time. Creating a culture of care provides a space for their voices to be heard.”
Developing places where kids can get involved allows their opinions, creativity and talents to be channeled so they can grow, McDevitt said. “Without a channel, it may not be directed to activities that are helpful to them and helpful to the community.”
“It seems kids can always find the light side of a situation,” McDevitt said. “Kids keep us connected to some of the better parts of ourselves that we forget about or get disconnected from. They remind us we have to continue to find some lightness and levity in situations.”
Another benefit of volunteerism in general is the sense of belonging and purpose, McDevitt said. “Getting involved, I meet the most remarkable people,” she said. “When I meet these people, I get more energy than I had before [and I] get more ideas than I had before.”
Not only getting to know people, but feeling that she is playing a significant role in improving the community is another benefit to volunteering, she added.
“I knew a lot about what WYN was doing [before I became a board member] and how effective Executive Director Jennifer Grubb is and what an incredible team of staff she’s put together,” McDevitt said. “The staff goes above and beyond every day,” she said. “They put in more hours than they get paid for. They really care about these kids.”
In addition to her involvement with WYN, McDevitt has been a consultant for Watauga Preventing Alcohol-Related Crashes (PARC) for two years and a consultant for N.C. Preventing Underage Drinking initiatives for four years. For the past five years, McDevitt has periodically fostered animals for Friends for Life and, for the past two years, she has occasionally provided resources to MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) for law enforcement DWI checkpoints.
An Opportunity to Bolster Future of the Community
“WYN has experienced significant cuts in its budget due to the state budget crisis,” McDevitt said, adding that the nonprofit lost 25 percent of its funding when two grants were slashed at the state level.
The reduction in funding “makes it difficult to continue to serve kids,” she said. WYN had to cut back staff salaries, staff hours and eliminate one of the days of its after school program, she added.
“Most people don’t know that there are hundreds of young people in our community who go home from school to empty homes, often where they’re being raised by a single parent, or in a troubled household, where they might get little to no help with homework,” McDevitt said.
“In short, there are a lot of young people who aren’t getting a fair shot at a successful life, through no fault of their own,” she said. “It is the Western Youth Network that provides them with a safe, caring place to be after school and where they can work on their studies, be with other kids their own age, have activities and be around good role models. Going back to the honeybees, even if people can donate $5 or $1 or 50 cents, everything will help.”
Each WYN board member has made a commitment to raise funds during the 2009-10 fiscal year, and McDevitt personally committed to raise $5,000 for the nonprofit.
A variety of events in the community will also raise money for WYN in upcoming months. Ten percent of funds generated by services at Outersanctum Salon through the end of September will be donated to WYN, as will a portion of proceeds from the Dark Mountain Challenge, a triathlon held in Wilkesboro in early October, and from the Valle Crucis Punkin Festival in late October.
“We are stepping it up to create even more fundraisers,” McDevitt said.
Community members who want to get involved can volunteer their time as mentors or provide financial support, she said.
Checks of any amount can be sent to Western Youth Network, C/O Live United Campaign, 155 WYN Way, Boone NC 28607.
For more information, click to www.westernyouthnetwork.org.
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