By Ashley Miller • Photograp hy by Allison Potters w e e t No big plans this weekend? Well,
that must be because you haven’t checked
your mailbox lately. Invitations to
nonprofit fundraising events are the
hottest buzz these days. Every weekend
seems to be booked with galas, festivals,
concerts, parties, runs and hootenannies
that go off without a hitch from the
participants’ points of view.
{ My volunteers are like wombats on
Red Bull. There is no need
}
for me to pump them up. But who works behind the scenes, to lead
the charge and guide the event ship into
the port of success? Who would want such
a huge responsibility, risking personal and
professional reputation?
Some of us have been to the meeting
where the dreaded question is asked,
“Who would like to chair our next event?”
Inevitably, some brave soul steps up to the
plate coming to the rescue.
Being chair is no easy task. You have
deadlines to meet, budget expectations to
fulfill, volunteers to corral, and most
importantly, funds to raise. Will the event
be a success? Will the people have a good
time? Whew … too much to think about.
Thank goodness some know how to take
charge and run with it. Because of these
individuals, events operate smoothly and
we all have a great time, while raising
much-needed funds for our local nonprofits.
Dr. Damian Brezinski, Wilmington Health cardiologist, is a
musician and superstar volunteer by passion.
Damian has spent countless hours volunteering and helping area nonprofits raise
funds. Growing up in a poor Pennsylvania coal town, he lived in a community where
the townspeople could count on each other. After high school, he attended the Berklee
College of Music in Boston before attending medical school.
When he relocated to Wilmington, he was given some advice: “Become part of
the community.” Damian found the best way to do this was through volunteerism
and first whet his appetite at Tileston Clinic on Ann Street. Since then, he has
incorporated his love for music into his projects, starting with the 2009 Heart Ball for
the American Heart Association with headliner Edwin
McCain. Through that project, Damian’s 501(c)(3)
Chords For a Cause, a music concert featuring top pop
recording artists playing alongside the Wilmington
Symphony Orchestra, was created. This not only
satisfies his thirst for working with music, featuring
acts like McCain, Sister Hazel, Gloriana and Vanessa
Carlton, he has also helped charities raise much-needed
funds.
Damian says volunteers are the bloodline for
his work. He has been fortunate enough to select
causes about which the volunteers are passionate.
“My volunteers are like wombats on Red Bull,” he says. “There is no need for me
to pump them up. They are the most energetic, smart and talented group of folks
around. I create the event, tell them what we need and they get it done.”
When choosing future projects, Damian always includes his family, wife Suzie and
their four boys.
“We spend time as a family and volunteer as one,” he says. “All projects include my
family because I can’t spend time away from them. The kids love the charity shows.
All of this bleeds naturally into our organic structure. The project also must come out
of a cause or need in the community, and of course is fun at the same time, and will
probably involve music.”
Events don’t come together without some mishaps, though. Chords For A Cause
memories include McCain’s double pneumonia performance, and Sister Hazel’s
rehearsal debacle during which the drum vibrations nearly shattered the lights in
Kenan Auditorium. The guitar amp was also so loud and distorted, it had to be
rewired. Gloriana was still able to perform weeks after losing a band member, and the
Vanessa Carlton show went on despite the uninvited guest, Hurricane Sandy.
Success to Damian is measured in different ways. While the fundraising dollars
are important, he focuses more on the event itself. What really drives him is creating
a need or a service line to the community, like the collaboration with the Betty H.
Cameron Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Carolina Canines’ literacy program,
involving service dogs and at-risk youths. There are probably many more projects
ahead for Damian and they will evolve as the family gets older and its lifestyle changes.
And while he says he is still awaiting word about his dream job — bass guitarist with
Metallica — in the meantime he will wait for his next calling.
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WBM april 2013