Lighting the Way – wayne centrone
The work – the actual day-to-day activities – of operating an NGO is a lot like running any business. There is a constant awareness of the bottom line. But it’s not all about money. As the saying goes, “no money equals no mission.” I must keep reminding myself of the more significant end-game goal that transcends the day-to-day financial challenges.
Although Health Bridges is an organization that runs two homes for formerly abandoned children and helps to facilitate the training of healthcare professionals in newborn resuscitation skills, we are also an organization with an eye toward the future. Our future goal is to become obsolete. Okay, I know that’s a bit dramatic – what I mean by that statement is that we are no longer solely involved in the direct delivery of services. Instead, our goal is to become a conduit for other organizations to deliver the best care possible to underserved children and for other organizations and guilds to develop training programs that train their constituents. Becoming an organization that helps others is our pathway to sustainable impact.
At the same time, we run two homes for over 60 formerly abandoned children, and we administer a training program that is helping to train hundreds of nurses and midwives. We can’t neglect our responsibility to keep these programs funded and operational. This both-and predicament means we are not only funding for the immediate impact but also building a model for the long-game solution.
This financial puzzle is why we desperately need stakeholders committed to supporting our day-to-day responsibilities – and more significant investment funders who will help us fortify our models and scale our impact. We need to light the way of the path we are on right here and now and illuminate a way forward.
We are having our first face-to-face fundraiser in over three years on October 08. Join us and help light the way as we chart our course to sustainable change for thousands of children and thousands of healthcare professionals. Please, join us and help us light the path for children who have lived through the experience of abandonment.
You can purchase your tickets online, and soon, we will open a web portal for you to participate virtually in the event, no matter where you are in the world. Join us – #BetheBridge
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