In meetings and events I attend around town I am often asked to describe Care Ring and talk about the work we do. Having been at Care Ring a little over five years now, I have a pretty good elevator speech all teed up and ready to go.
What we do each day is take care of thousands of individuals who have fallen between the cracks of a dysfunctional health care system. We help individuals with very limited resources establish and maintain good health by providing access to affordable, accessible care. We also go into the homes of some of our city’s most vulnerable low-income pregnant women, getting them ready to raise their newborn and preparing their families for success.
I also share how we do this work. From our headquarters in uptown Charlotte, we operate a low-cost clinic, coordinate voluntary care from nearly half of the physicians in town, and provide the hub for our home-visiting nurses who venture into homes across the county to provide care. In talking about how we accomplish our mission, I often share stories about the remarkable work our team of more than 40 poverty-fighters do each day. I assure you there are real heroes on the Care Ring team, bringing hope and healing to our neighbors.
But I think Care Ring’s special sauce, the key ingredient that sets us apart, is why we do our work. Author and marketing consultant Simon Sinek has a powerful Ted Talk online about “How Great Leaders Inspire Action.” Sinek’s key insight is that he believes that in order to understand what sets organizations apart, you must focus on the why.
Sinek argues that people do not buy a product (or invest in a nonprofit), simply because of what you do. Nor do they purchase a service (or make a donation to your agency) because of how well you describe what you do.
Great organizations, Sinek argues, achieve outstanding results by sharing why they do what they do. The reason why we do our work at Care Ring is because we envision a community that promotes, protects, and improves the health and well-being of all people. We are passionate about finding ways to realize this vision. We strive to empower individuals to establish and maintain good health, and everything we do each day is driven by this essential mission.
While we pursue our vision and work toward realizing our mission each day, the only way we are able to make progress is through the generous support of donors who invest in our cause. It is my hope that in these final days of 2017, you will consider supporting the what, how AND why we do our work with a donation to Care Ring.