NCAAN People: Brandon Cordrey, Volunteer Team Member

This is the first in a new series of blog posts about the people who make NCAAN's work possible.

Why did you start volunteering with NCAAN?

Brandon is one of the volunteers
who has helped NCAAN engage
more than 10,000 people in our
Action Team.

I am in the application process for the Peace Corps. About seven years ago, when I was in Governor’s School, I saw the movie Hotel Rwanda, about the genocide there. My friends and I wondered how anyone goes on from something like that. And the next night, almost as if it was planned, they had a man from the Peace Corps come speak. I remember thinking, “Well, that’s what you do. That’s how you go on. You try and make a difference.”

I wanted more experience with the issues of sexual health and HIV/AIDS, which are important areas for the Peace Corps. I started looking up organizations in Raleigh that worked on AIDS issues, seeing if I could volunteer. 

NCAAN made it super-easy, and the people here are friendly. I get a chance to educate people about the impact of HIV/AIDS in North Carolina. I feel like we are making a difference.

What has it been like? 
I volunteer from one to ten hours a week. I do a lot of data entry, and I make a lot of phone calls. I went on one canvassing trip and to a couple of special events, like the Dogwood Festival in Fayetteville. 

Tonight I’m doing phone calls. Saturday I’m doing a canvass, talking to people in their neighborhoods, getting their support for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program and asking them to volunteer.

Is there any one experience that sticks out in your memory?
There is one. At a street festival, I was talking to a woman about the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, and she shared that her husband died of AIDS. She became an educator, telling people that it’s not only a gay disease and that there are people with HIV who can live healthy lives. That was a very powerful experience. At NCAAN, we all have a common vision, and we work towards it together. But she was doing that on her own.

What do you do when you’re not volunteering for NCAAN?
I’m an artist, so I have a studio, and I spend time there, and I spend time with my dog and my boyfriend whenever I can. I work fulltime managing the Lee Hansley Gallery, and I volunteer at the North Carolina Museum of Art, doing education programs there. I love teaching art, especially to kids. They feel awkward at first, and they doubt themselves. But then they get more comfortable, and the walls come down. 

If there is a common bond between my art and what I do at NCAAN, that’s it:  they’re both about people and relationships.

What would you tell someone thinking about volunteering?

It’s really easy. And it’s really rewarding. Often when I call people to see if they’ll volunteer, there’s a little something that’s holding them back. They aren’t sure that they have going on next Thursday. They aren’t sure if something better is going to come up. 

I tell them, “It’s easy. It’s fun while you’re here. And when you leave, you’ll feel good about yourself.”

Want to join Brandon on the volunteer team. Tell us!