Name: Sabine Deprez
Age: 53
Occupation: Scientific researcher, KU Leuven
Location: Duffel
How are you volunteering to help find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease?
Together with my three 20-something children, I help to raise funds for research into Parkinson’s disease. It is a real family endeavor. We have taken part in ‘Run for Parkinson’, our son Alexander has organized a concert ‘Music for Parkinson’ (he doesn’t like to run! 😊), we have done push-ups for #20-for-2 and a few years ago Justine baked and sold biscuits. Thanks to our friends and wider family, who support our activities every year, we have been able to raise quite a bit of money. Since the beginning of this year, I have also been helping the Demoucelle Parkinson Charity behind the scenes on strategy and communications.
Why are you volunteering?
I have always enjoyed volunteering. It gives me great satisfaction to be able to contribute, to do something worthwhile, to feel useful. I used to be very active in the parents’ council of my children’s academic and music schools, organising events, being the secretariat or chairman. You get a lot in return. Helping others makes you happy as you achieve things together, feel connected and often make life-long friends. Now that the children are a bit older, I have more time to take on a new challenge as a volunteer and helping raise money to cure Parkinson’s Disease was an easy choice.
We have known Patrick and Anne-Marie Demoucelle for many years and admire them enormously: the positive attitude with which they deal with Parkinson’s disease, which has a major impact on the whole family; the way they inspire many people; and the professionalism with which they run the Demoucelle Parkinson Charity.
When my husband Philippe was treated for a very aggressive tumour a few years ago, Patrick and Anne-Marie not only gave us a great deal of support but also showed us how we could move forward in a positive way.
The evening before my husband had to undergo a leg amputation: Patrick said: “Philippe, we are the only ones here around the table who are lucky enough to be able to lead two totally different kinds of lives in this world, which makes us so much richer. Different lives that bring us different insights. My new life is more intense and connected to people than before as people share personal stories more easily, …”. This insight had a big impact on Philippe and enabled him to be incredibly positive and compassionate until his passing.
By actively helping as a volunteer with the Demoucelle Parkinson Charity, I hope to be able to do something meaningful for Patrick and Anne-Marie and for everyone living with Parkinson’s disease.
What kind of tasks do you do for DPC? And how many hours/week does it take?
Since January, I am part of a team within the Demoucelle Parkinson Charity that is trying to encourage more people to join in and raise money for Parkinson’s research: to … ‘Be present. Be active. Beat Parkinson’s!’. We want to create a community of people that feel empowered and able to make a difference – in a similar way to how people in the US organize fundraisers to support research via the Michael J Fox Foundation.
We meet on a regular basis (by Zoom these days), and look for new ideas and ways to raise awareness about Parkinson’s Disease and to support would-be fundraisers.
In April, around World Parkinson’s Day, we used social media to share information about the symptoms; asked a patient to write a daily blog about her life living with the disease; asked people to share pictures of tulips, the symbol of Parkinson’s; and organised a tulip-themed art competition for children.- In May, the DPC’s biggest annual fundraiser ‘Run for Parkinson’ could not take place due to Covid-19 so in an effort to keep people’s spirits up during lockdown and inspire activity and encourage fundraising, we set up the #20for2 Challenge whereby people were challenged via friends on social media to do 20 laps, minutes, or activity of any kind, and to donate 2 euros
for research to Parkinson’s disease. It was fun to see the pictures of people’s smiling faces. - At the end of this month (Sept), people can walk or run in the virtual Brussels Airport marathon and raise funds for the charity. Pieter, our eldest son, is already training well and this year we are all going to participate in some way, even Alexander (who, as I mentioned before, doesn’t like to run. 😊) You can always create your own fundraising activity via the DPC website.
Right now, we are working with a DPC volunteer to help her bring her fundraising idea to life: selling sachets of tulip bulbs through October and November. (More on how to help sell or buy tulip bulbs here).- We are also working on a toolkit of suggestions and practical tips that will make it easier for people to set up their own fundraising activities.
In addition, I try to keep abreast of scientific research into Parkinson’s disease and to help ensure that important advances are shared via our social media. In this way, I can use my expertise as a scientist (albeit in a different domain) to help the Demoucelle Parkinson Charity. We also plan to make a number of films available to explain Parkinson’s and the search for a cure and research results. As you can see, there is a lot of interesting work to be done! While my intention is to spend about one day a week on this volunteer work, unfortunately I do not always succeed.
What kind of skills do charities, such as DPC, need?
Charities need all kinds of skills: people who like to do practical work (e.g. for the tulip bulb action: putting together packages, selling bags, …), but also people who like to organise and plan events; people who want to generate creative ideas for fundraising; and people who have knowledge of social media and communication. Everyone can contribute something!
What is something positive that volunteering has taught/shown/given you?
Too many positives to mention! What strikes me all the time is that through volunteering you can learn and grow so much. Not only do you help others, but you also learn from others. It is an investment in yourself and in your personal growth. But most importantly, you meet others and build friendships. I have been lucky enough to meet wonderful, sweet people through volunteering, some of whom have become friends for life, and that is priceless. Volunteering gives you back much more than you give. I heartily recommend it.
What motivates you on difficult days?
No matter how difficult the day may be, try to find something positive, no matter how small it may be. Focusing on the positive and beautiful things in life and being thankful for them gives strength to carry on. My husband’s positive attitude continues to inspire us. When things get difficult, we think of all the beautiful things he has given us and move forward …
What motto do you try to live up to?
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandi
(Sabine, Alexander, Philippe, Pieter and Justine)