May Newsletter – Message from Africa
Business as Unusual
Sorry we’re late getting this to you. It’s been a busy month. And we have a lot of ground to cover. Set aside 15 minutes and walk through this. See what God’s up to here.
Have you ever heard of cause related marketing? It’s big. Google it. It even has its own acronym – CRM. Brilliant marketing experts have written books about it. Here’s the concept: Consumer X will switch from Brand or Service Provider A to Brand or Service Provider B, if B offers comparable quality and pricing, and B advances a worthy cause. Pay attention around you. It’s everywhere.
We’re seeing a new and exciting movement at C3: businesses making orphan care a core purpose of their mission. Let’s call it Jesus Christ Related Marketing (“JCRM”). Both involve leveraging business/leveraging a cause. CRM’s primary motivation is to increase revenue and profits. JCRM’s motive is to care for more abandoned children; increasing revenue (though common) is not the driver. CRM tends to promote self, when you scratch beneath the surface. JCRM selflessly promotes the cause. Indeed, the more revenue and exposure increases from JCRM, the more the promoter gets hooked on expanding the cause. CRM trades on a cause to generate more relationships based on the product or service. JCRM builds relationships based on the cause. Simply put, the difference between CRM and JCRM is the motive of the heart.
Let’s make a distinction. JCRM that catches fire is not the tired, lame, sometimes fraudulent and usually cheesy tag line: “I’m a Christian, so you should do business with me.” We’ve all become wary of that. JCRM simply focuses on doing the Gospel, selflessly and inclusively in the business world.
JCRM is catching fire at C3.
JCRM – Using Business to Build a Children’s Village
Our photo/video of the month honoree is Dr. Andrew Moyes. Andy’s an eye doc. He owns Moyes Eye Center, P.C. (“MEC”) in North Kansas City. Andy and his wife, Cathryn, have become fully devoted (and appreciated!) C3 Advocates. In April 2007, Cathryn took a C3 trip to Haiti. In September 2007, Andy did the same. That was the trip with the twins. See October Newsletter.
Let’s take a look at a video Andy put together from that trip, our video for the month. Roll the film (see Andy’s Video).
Several of us, including Andy, visited Northwest Haiti at the end of that trip. We visited a remote, destitute area of NW Haiti, and found a 10 acre plot of land in Salines Myette. In the video, you’ll recognize Salines Myette. It’s the place where we were throwing the football and clowning with a bunch of kids on the only grassy area shown in the video. It’s beautiful, despite the surrounding poverty.
Andy had a thought that day at Salines Myette: why not leverage his business to develop an entire children’s village? He and Cathryn could use business revenue for the village, engage MEC customers in the venture, and place the village front and center in MEC’s mission. Obviously, many orphaned children would greatly benefit from the project. But, it would also connect their day-to-day work with their passion to care for orphaned children, and connect the business with its clients in a most impactful way. When Andy returned to the U.S., he and Cathryn could have poo-pooed the idea and continued business as usual. Inertia’s a powerful thing. They didn’t. They immediately pushed the concept.
We worked with our partners in Haiti to get the ball rolling: C3 and MEC would start with 10 homes for 200 children at Salines Myette. Andy and Cathryn took ownership of the project, and made it part of their personal and business mission.
Andy rolled out the project to every MEC client, past and present, telling them his heart and vision, and inviting their participation. He featured the project in his office. Andy and Cathryn started utilizing business revenue to fund the village. This venture has been an absolute home run. Through MEC and its clients, the village is fully funded and under construction as we speak. The entire village will be full of children by the time school starts in August.
SO: MEC leverages its business to develop a children’s village for a couple hundred orphans in Northwest Haiti. Business owners feel fulfilled and purpose driven. Clients develop a deeper relationship with Business. Orphaned, homeless children benefit. JCRM makes a lot of sense.
The C3 Family of Businesses – Growing Every Month
At C3, businesses like Andy’s have become part of the C3 Family of Businesses: those businesses and their customers joining forces for the cause of orphaned and abandoned children worldwide.
Businesses joining this mission are doing so in many different ways. The most common are: (1) developing and underwriting a home or village through the business; (2) tying a % of gross profit to C3’s mission to care for more children; (3) joining our credit card program (we partner with a credit card processor who gives a % of the fees – which you cannot avoid – to C3); (4) committing resources and expertise to help C3’s business; and (5) committing resources and expertise to the C3 children.
Examples within the C3 Family of Businesses are:
Nueterra/Integral Life Foundation: Providing healthcare for the C3 children (see April 2008 Newsletter);
Cerner/First Hand Foundation: Providing healthcare technology to assist in the healthcare program for C3 children (see April 2008 Newsletter);
Hagen & Associates: Providing PR assistance to C3;
SE Cooper & Associates: Providing accounting expertise to C3;
Moyes Eye Center (see above);
CottageCare, Inc.: Developing children’s villages (like Moyes Eye Center) in Rwanda;
Mariner Wealth Advisors: Principals have developed multiple homes with and provide ongoing support for C3 children;
Hodgdon Powder Company/Hodgdon Family Foundation: Developed multiple homes with and provide ongoing support for C3 children;
Shred-It: Developed and underwrites child care for C3 home;
Textcaster: Developed multiple homes with and provide ongoing support for C3 children;
Fountain Capital: Developed multiple homes with C3 children;
Comfort Cruise Holiday Travel: Developed multiple homes with C3 children;
Triad Media: Developed home with and provide ongoing support for C3 childen;
Triune Financial Partners: Consistently provide life cost funding for C3 children;
Palmetto Propane: Consistently provide life cost funding for C3 children;
Stewardship Wealth Management: Consistently provide life cost funding for C3 children;
Naval Base (Virginia): Consistently provide life cost funding for C3 children;
Aquatic Design Consultants, Inc: Devotes a portion of its profit to C3;
Redstone Landscaping: Devotes a portion of its profit to C3;
We’re in the process of developing and devoting a portion of our C3 website to celebrate the C3 Family of Businesses. If you’d like to join the C3 Family of Businesses, contact Joe Knittig ([email protected]).
May Haiti Trip
Incredible! Several leaders from Liberty Christian Fellowship (“LCF”) and a new group to the C3 Community – leaders from Buckhead Church in Atlanta – went. LCF dedicated the first C3 home it’s sponsoring. Our Buckhead group experienced the C3 model, and started laying the groundwork to develop a children’s village in the south of Haiti. The trip was another mountaintop experience, thanks be to God.
Here are some photos from the trip.
Drew Hiss – Ride for Orphans
We’re amazed at the new and adventurous ways that many in the C3 family think of to advance the ball. Drew Hiss has put together a group of eight who’ll bike across the U.S. (through 14 states in seven days) to raise awareness and funding to build another C3 home for 60 children. Check this out. See Drew’s website. Encourage this team as they set out on this journey. We appreciate all of you who tap into your own creativity to care for these children.
You ready for this, Drew?
Welcome Cynthia Lewis
Cynthia Lewis has joined the C3 team as our Trip Coordinator. If you don’t know Cynthia, make an effort to do so. She’s one of the most selfless, gracious people you’ll meet. Cynthia will do much more than help make the trip process smooth; she will help us all build deeper relationships – community – around the experience, and press us not to simply settle back into the status quo. Please take a moment to welcome Cynthia – [email protected].
Mike and Joe – Africa Trip
Mike and Joe are finally home from their Africa trip that launched several new and exciting C3 projects. They completed stops to Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, Uganda and Zimbabwe. God blessed the trip in unimaginable ways. Next month, we’ll bring you details and images that will bring the experience to you, very personally. We would include some images now, but Mike and Joe are genetically incapable of understanding IT 101.
For now, let’s just sum up the trip like this: It’s an awesome privilege to serve these kids; strap in to take the C3 reach to a new level.
Please be in prayer for the projects in Africa, specifically for the leaders Mike and Joe met with on the journey.
Friday, June 6th First Friday
Come to the C3 office this Friday for our First Friday’s at C3 starting at 4:00 p.m. Bring friends and family. If you’re planning to come, shoot Cathie an e-mail ([email protected]) so we have some idea about how much food and drink we’ll need.
May 20th C3 Party – Thank You
Home run. More than 150 of you joined in the fun. It was great to get together and celebrate what God’s doing in the growing C3 Community. Thanks to all who attended. Thanks to so many of you who gave and decided to become monthly partners within C3. And a special “Thank You” to Case Dorman and Jack Stack BBQ for hosting the party.
The next party will be a really huge one – our annual C3 Event in September.
SAVE THE DATE – ANNUAL C3 EVENT – SEPTEMBER 26, 2008!!! (click here for more info)
More info to come… Right now, we’re asking you to set aside Friday, September 26, 2008 for the annual C3 party at The Club House on Baltimore. This will be a blast, and we will all be a part of something huge – together.
Concluding Thoughts
Join us in this effort. Make this your personal ministry. Your family’s ministry. Your small group’s ministry. Your company’s ministry. Your church’s ministry. Unapologetically, we’re asking you to join us and expand the C3 family.
Faithfully yours,
Your C3 Partners
