Curley Davis, "He is a valued and dedicated volunteer," said DeKalb NAACP President Yvonne Hawks.

Curley Davis
1/28/10 Categorized in: Champ of the Week.
Curley Davis said that he got used to volunteering during his 23 years as an Atlanta firefighter. “We often went into the community to give talks and demonstrations,” he recalled. “After I retired, I needed something to do and volunteering just seemed like a natural fit.”

The first volunteer mission Davis took on as a retiree was with a tutorial program that a friend was conducting in Mississippi. It was there that he first worked with the NAACP. “After my wife passed away, I decided to come back to the Atlanta area,” he said, explaining that he then moved to DeKalb County. Eager to fill his hours with more volunteer work, Davis contacted the DeKalb County NAACP in January 2009 to ask if there were projects he could help with. Now the local branch considers him one of its most dependable volunteers.

“He is a valued and dedicated volunteer,” said DeKalb NAACP President Yvonne Hawks. “I asked him if he would be willing to man the office for [certain] hours, and he said yes without hesitation.”

He comes into the NAACP office two or three times a week, devoting about four hours each time. Most of Davis’ work is with the NAACP’s legal redress committee, which helps people in the community address legal problems. “People have questions about everything from why their Social Security application isn’t going through to how they can help a son or daughter who’s in trouble with the law. We act as a sort of clearing house, referring them to agencies that can help them. When I was younger, I went to law school and that has been helpful in steering people in the right direction. Some of them just need somebody to talk to, to know that somebody cares.”

Davis said he enjoys the environment at the NAACP and finds the work varied and interesting.

“Today, I’m helping Hosea Feed the Homeless get some things they need. Next time it will be a different program. I don’t want to just sit down; I want to keep helping people,” Davis said.