Teen's Start-Up Is Leading the Fight in Alzheimer's Disease
Victoria Da Conceicao is the founder of the organization Brain Box. Find out how this teen is leading the fight against Alzheimer's.
Photo: Al Dia/Elizabeth Lobron
Teenager Victoria Da Conceicao is the CEO and founder of the Alzheimer’s organization named Brain Box. This initiative is a way for Victoria to fight for her grandmother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The initiative was first organized for Victoria’s grandmother, but it has since reached out to Alzheimer’s patients across the nation. The goal of Brain Box is to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.
Two years ago, Victoria lived with her grandmother. As she watched her grandmother daily, some noticeable changes in her grandmother’s behavior became obvious to her. Victoria’s grandmother would forget to pick Victoria up from school, and there were times in the middle of the night when she would not know where she was. And then, Victoria’s grandmother began to forget her insulin shots.
It was apparent that Victoria would need to get her grandmother to the doctor, where she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, which is a type of dementia that causes memory, thinking, and behavioral problems.
Statistics from the Alzheimer’s Association state that 5.7 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, and every 65 seconds someone in the U.S. develops this debilitating and heartbreaking disease. Victoria’s heart was broken for her grandmother and her family, and she decided that she had to do something to help.
Victoria Da Conceicao, 15, lived alone with her grandmother and that meant that she had to step and learn all she could about Alzheimer’s. Victoria researched, read, and discovered as much as she could about Alzheimer’s and what she could do to help.
Victoria is now 17 and is fighting against Alzheimer’s, trying to find a way to help her grandmother and others like her diagnosed with this condition. During her research, Victoria discovered that activities like puzzles, using essential oils and other brain games helped improve her grandmother’s memory and stopped the mood swings of Alzheimer’s. As they worked together, Victoria noticed that her grandmother reacted in positive ways to these exercises.
Next, Victoria started making homemade care packages for her grandmother, so she could do her puzzles and exercises when Victoria wasn’t home.
Da Conceicao recalled, “And then I thought, ‘Wait, why don’t I share this with other people? Like what if I could make this accessible?’”
Victoria launched her Alzheimer’s Brain Box startup in July 2018, which was only six months after she first made a care package for her grandmother. Now she makes boxes for others to purchase for their loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s. All profits made from Brain Box are donated to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Victoria’s mother, Leti Llamas-Da Conceicao, is very proud of her daughter. Victoria handled all the components of her startup, Alzheimer’s Brain Box, and campaigned completely on her own. Leti Llamas-Da Conceicao said, “She became very resourceful and learned how to create a business, a website, product development, and marketing.”
“She could have let sadness overcome her, but she didn’t,” she added. “The love for her grandmother created this sense of urgency inside her to do something meaningful that could impact change.”
To get her initiative advertised, Victoria participated as a sponsor in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s. This walk is the most significant event that raises funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s. Victoria says that this walk was great for exposure for her Brain Box campaign. She also is in contact with nursing homes where she takes her boxes and delivers for the residents.
Victoria readily admits that being a girl, half-Mexican and her age are challenges. People are impressed that someone so young can take on such an initiative, but there are those who don’t think she is serious. Some would say “that’s cute” when she would talk about her project.
She said, "I think it’s great that people think it’s cute, but I’m trying to break away from that, and I want to show people that even though I’m young, I still have a vision.”
Victoria went on, “I’m trying to show my peers that we can start businesses, too, and we can do things even if we don’t have certain degrees or backgrounds,”
Victoria knows she is someone who can inspire her peers to start an initiative without regard to age, racial ethnicity or gender. She wants her friends and social group to know that they can do good and shouldn’t let anything stand in their way.
Victoria is a high school senior and she has just started to apply to colleges. She is determined to pursue a major in neuroscience and a minor in social entrepreneurship. It is her goal to conduct Alzheimer’s research at a major research facility.
As she prepares for high school graduation and her move onto college, Victoria’s motivation to increase awareness for Alzheimer’s has grown. She knows that many of her classmates do not think about Alzheimer’s, but she also hopes to encourage peers her age to help with her products and learn about Alzheimer’s.
Victoria says that Alzheimer’s patients need young advocates, too.
Studies have proven that losing thinking skills can be reduced by participating in social events reading, playing board games, creating art, playing an instrument and other activities that require mental engagement.
Support from family and friends is crucial. Realizing that Alzheimer’s patients are still people is essential. Follow in Victoria’s footsteps and purchase her Brain Box to aid Alzheimer’s research. You can also create your own brain box of games, puzzles, videos, and other comforts to help an Alzheimer’s patient cope with their lifestyle changes.
