← Going Big! with Kevin Gentry
Going Big! with Kevin Gentry
How CarePortal Has Served 600,000+ Children and Families with Adrien Lewis
00:49:13
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- [00:00]
A
We are just scratching the surface on what's possible. Like last year we had 175,000 people seen and served through neighbors caring for their neighbors. And our goal is to achieve 1 million people seen and served by their neighbors in a single year.
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B
Welcome to the Going Big Podcast. I'm your host, Kevin Gentry, and this is the place where we celebrate bold moves and big ideas. Each week I sit down with inspiring leaders, entrepreneurs and change makers who are making a significant impact in their careers and in their communities. Whether you're looking to level up your leadership, pursue your passion, or just get inspired to take your next big leap, this is where those stories come to life. Now, if you're listening on iTunes, YouTube or anywhere else you tune into podcasts, be sure to hit that subscribe button so you'll never miss an episode. Now let's dive in to what it means to truly go big. Welcome back to another episode of the Going Big Podcast. I'm your host Kevin Gentry and my guest today is Adrian Lewis, who is the founder and CEO of CarePortal, which is a massive movement in the country today, which is helping real concerned, checked out child welfare situations in a way that is connecting people to help in a way that I think you are going to find is just very inspiring and hopefully will even inspire you to become engaged in this movement. This began as just a bit of a mission by Adrian and his wife Cynthia. And as I say, it has turned into a movement where Today more than 6000 faith communities and more than 1500 different agencies are combining to help over 600,000 people across the United States, really in a way that is just directly affecting families in ways that we've just never seen before. So this is an ultimate Going Big story. I think you're going to see that played out. Adrian, it's a real pleasure to have you on today, on today's episode. Thanks for joining us.
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A
I appreciate it. Kevin, thank you so much for the invite, brother.
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B
Well, here's the first question. When you started this, did you have a vision for it becoming as big as it is today?
- [02:39]
A
No, is the short answer right. The more detail here is my the beginning of this with my wife, as you mentioned, was really about us living into a personal, individual purpose for ourselves, a purpose to care for the most vulnerable in a way that we hadn't in the past. We had a pretty life changing experience on our journey together that led to this. And that's what it started as, just a personal thing. And then my wife did something crazy in October of 2008. She prayed that we would have a God size ministry to the orphan. And that has changed everything.
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B
Well, tell us more about that. Immediately I'm thinking, was there a mission and then it grew into this much bigger vision? Or was the vision, did this originate in prayer? Tell us more about how you and Cynthia came to this sense of where you saw a need and you wanted to act through the gifts that you've been given.
- [03:50]
A
Yeah, we went on a mission trip. First time I'd ever done something like this, in 2007, January 2007. And we went to Haiti. This trip was intended for us to just really love on the kids who were there. I mean, some of your listeners, I'm sure, have been to this country or been to other countries like it, where you're seeing and experiencing things that are just so different than what we have here. And when I mean different, I don't mean just the abject poverty, because that was real. That was the most intense poverty I've ever been part of. I mean, people everywhere with nothing, no safety, no not having the basic things that you and I take for granted, none of that, that is different. And this amazing resolve and joy in the people, this beauty that I saw, that was just humbling. It was just humbling. So you have this contrast between this very difficult environment with people who are like living into it in the most free way I've seen, and we're there on this trip to love on these kids. And one of the days we were just walking on this field and we have a moment, just like a before and after moment. I don't know if you've had one of those. I know many people have. But this before and after moment, and in this moment or on this field and on the other side of this moment, which felt supernatural is the best way I can explain it. I had a purpose that was bigger than myself and it included my wife. And that purpose changed our perspective. It changed how we spent our time and our money. And it was all about caring for the most vulnerable in our midst. And that turned into little things and big things in the months and years to come. But it started with that seed that was planted that basically, Kevin, I like, before that time, I really thought that all my success was because of my awesomeness. And the truth is I've been gifted so much, so much. And. And I have an opportunity to give what I've been given.
- [06:25]
B
Indeed. Wow. Well, there's a lot here to talk about. I mean, discovering your gift, unpacking that, the opportunity, the blessings you've been given how you can help people in need, dire need, Care Portal. What's. Just to get us started, what's the 30 second description of what Careportal is doing? You and I are riding up five or six floors in an elevator and I say, Adrian Lewis, you are at Careportal. What is that?
- [06:57]
A
So simple. We are connecting kids and families in crisis with churches and people in the community that want to help in real time through technology. Again, in 30 seconds. That's what we're doing. If you want to equate it to something, it's like the way Uber connects riders and drivers together, people who don't know each other, but there's this trust element that's baked in there and the riders have a need and the drivers have a need. Well, we're leveraging a similar multi sided marketplace platform to connect kids and families in crisis through vetted requests to people in the community that want to care for them. So we're basically saying we have a way to scale neighbors seeing and serving their neighbors and making meaningful connections along the way.
- [07:48]
B
All right, well, as you know, I was introduced to Careportal a while ago, so a little bit. And that's why so badly wanted to have you on here. And I've gotten to work with your colleague Joe knitting, and what you're doing is just extraordinary. So there's the platform piece, there's the sort of modern technological element that allows this, as you say, in an Uber like way, to connect two parties together to do something mutually beneficial. But let's go straight first back into the need. What is the need that is being addressed? Is there a little. Is there a cry for help? Is there somebody saying, hey, I'm raising my hand, I just can't get by right now. I need some assistance?
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A
Such an important question, Kevin, because in our country there are many people who want to help others, but they often aren't sure who to help or if their help is really helpful. Am I being taken advantage of? There's all kinds of questions of doubt that are in people who have a desire to help somebody else. And what Careportal has done through the way we structured things is we partner with agencies. They can be child welfare agencies, they can be schools and homeless shelters. We partner with these agencies who are trying to address the needs of the most vulnerable in our country. And they have some people on their team that like, function as a caseworker. Right, A caseworker. Susie is working with the Smith family, and Kate and Susie knows what the Smith family is Going through and what they really need and Susie's trying to help. And when Susie meets the Smith family and is talking to them and finds out as an example that they are trying to keep their kids from going into foster care and they need some things like some beds or some bills paid, anything like that, Susie is able to advocate on their behalf as part of her job to put that request into the careportal platform so that this network of churches and businesses and people who care, all in proximity, they can see that in real time and they can say, oh, that one moves me, I'm gonna help. And that vetting on the front end through these caseworkers who we partner with is what establishes a currency of trust for people who want to step up and then serve. And the technology that makes it instant and right there for you removes the barriers for you to know exactly what to do and where to do it and how to do it. And some people, their contribution is financial. They look at the requests. My daughter Adora, last week she was a request came through and she funded was for a mom and dad who had a fire in their house. Spanish speaking family. And the daughter, the 11 year old daughter, her room got the worst of it. And this is a family who's just make it like barely making it right. And the caseworker who's working with them put the request into the platform. And my daughter sees it and she resonates with this 11 year old girl and the things that the girl needs and she's like, I'm going to fund that. And so she does through the technology, she just, she pays for the things. But then we have a local church who's close by that family, who then gets notified through our platform and says, hey, the money's been made available. Would you like to take the lead and engage this family? And so then a local church does, they step up and they engage the family with the caseworker. And ultimately this family not only gets the things that the daughter needs. Needs which are simple. I mean all her clothes got burnt up and her shoes and her favorite doll and like just simple things. But in the meeting of that need, when a neighbor shows up at a neighbor's house, they actually went shopping together is what ended up happening. When they show up like that, a stranger, there is this opportunity for some relational sparks to get fired for a connection to happen between one person and another. And that based on like our human condition is actually essential for us to thrive. And so I just imagine, just imagine you are that family and you don't have what you need, and there's nobody that you can call, and this stranger shows up and you go shopping together, you feel seen and believed in and cared for, and you get the things that you need. And so for us, the magic is the resources in the right time and the relationship that can lead to life change for everybody that's involved. And that's what we're seeing happen literally thousands and thousands of times every month.
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B
Wow. I mean, it really is revolutionary. And it addresses so many problems, problems that cause sort of friction in our modern existence. That is, if I could say I may get this wrong, you can correct me. But, you know, we have this mindset of, you know, in the past, maybe 100 or so years ago, that communities could look out for one another because we were more connected. We went to school and church together. We saw each other. And if we saw somebody in need, we could help them more easily. You can't do that today in a more urbanized world, in the nature of our world, even to the extent that our communities have become sort of broken and split apart and things like that. How in the world could that connection be made? In churches, you have a lot of people with intent towards outreach, but they just may not know how beyond certainly their immediate backyard. And that immediate backyard may not have the needs that somewhere else may. So am I getting this right? Is this through technology you're making connections happen that otherwise probably just wouldn't happen?
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A
I mean, you're nailing it, Kevin. That's awesome. It is absolutely about the connections. It's about making things that are invisible, very visible and plain. I'll even go back to the Uber example. You have no idea who's driving around the city who needs to make some money and has a car, can give you a ride. But the platform is allowing you to make that connection, and that's all good. And in this case, the connection that we're making is all about life transformation. It's about a crisis that a family is going through, and they have a need right now. And there are so many caring people. They just don't know who has the need, where they are, and can they trust it. And in our case, we're able to link up people who have resources they want to give and people who have time they want to give and put all that together for the right family at the right time. And it's absolutely amazing. And I'll tell you, Kevin, you asked me earlier, I didn't quite get there. You know, in our country, people would probably Be surprised if they heard that every single year, over 7 million children have hotline calls made about their safety. Their lack of safety could be neglect, could be abuse, could be maltreatment. Seven million plus children every single year. And so my mind, as an entrepreneur, thinking, business kind of person. Right, okay. That's kind of the market for the most vulnerable people in our country is these children and the families that they are part of. And so how do we figure out ways to unlock folks who have those needs and those who want to come alongside of them. How do we. How do we do that in a really trusted way? Well, to your point, our communities are not what they used to be. We're very isolated. In fact, did you know what year was it? 2023. Surgeon General makes a definitive statement that social isolation is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The health impact. Right. Let that sit in. And if you think about the people who are most vulnerable in our country, the social isolation for them, particularly in times of need, is even worse. I mean, and so for us, man, we fit in this really sweet spot where we don't actually do the serving. We just connect the people who have a need with those who want to meet it, and we do it in a trusted way.
- [16:56]
B
All right, well, Adrian, the more you share, the more interested I am intrigued to dig in further. So now I've got some more follow up questions. So you're working with 1500 agencies who are helping identify and vet to some degree the need.
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A
Yeah.
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B
And then you're working with these 5,000 or so churches or places of faith or whatever communities, whatever these communities are, who are themselves organizing and vetting people who want to help. And then the technology just connects it. Is that what happens?
- [17:36]
A
Yes. And it connects it a couple layers there. One is it's one family at a time. So the family I told you about that my daughter helped out with, that was like one family. And every time a request comes in, that's what we're talking about. This family, the Smith family, the Johnsons, et cetera, et cetera, every single time. And in addition to faith communities, there is an opportunity for anyone to participate. So we have businesses and sports teams and Rotary clubs and you name it, and individuals and families sitting in their kitchen that are not even part of a faith community at all, who just download the app and they get part of the community and they see something that inspires them and they get involved. They give their time or energy and resources. And so we're really creating this what we call a care sharing Network, so we call it. We're creating a care sharing network where we are connecting neighbors to see and serve the most vulnerable neighbors with both resources and relationship. And there's a place at the table for anyone who wants to participate. And it all comes through this funnel of vetted needs, one at a time in your community.
- [18:51]
B
Wow. Okay, so now let's go back to sort of the big problem, the big need. I mean, yeah, I had no idea. Seven million children, just children. We're just talking about children, other aspects as well. People that are affected, in need. Seven million children who are essentially crying out for help. When you and Cynthia had this moment in Haiti, you weren't thinking about, hey, we're going to help everybody. I mean, were you or what? Walk us through a little bit more about how this came about. That is, again, my question at the beginning, did the mission change, expand into the vision, or. Or did the vision start at the beginning?
- [19:34]
A
You know, when this lovely wife of mine prayed that prayer in 2008, she had no idea what was coming, and yet she. She was ready for it, like whatever it was. And so it. It ultimately led to a few years later, after being really connected to that organization. It's called the Global Orphan Project, that's who we went to Haiti with. A few years later, I got invited to leave my company and join them. My wife and I were donors and we had led more trips and we were volunteering and got connected to the leadership and they needed help and they invited me and we prayed about it and it felt like the next right thing we were supposed to do. So I left my company and joined. And that was the beginning of 2010. And along the way, I'm in Uganda and I have another one of those moments where I really feel like I'm getting some clear direction from God. And we're supposed to take the foster care class. And so that led my wife and I down a path of taking this foster care class. And all of a sudden we're learning about. We're learning about the kids in our zip code and we're learning about the very, very difficult things that they're dealing with. Things I can't even speak to.
- [21:05]
B
Right. Because I think this is so important for everybody, listening to understand so many aspects of this. So ultimately, either they can find their own path to getting involved in careportal perhaps, or. Or applying their gifts in the manner that you and Cynthia have to help improve the lives of others. So you said you were in your business, your career, you stepped away from that to do what you all are doing. Tell us a little bit about that, because that's no easy thing. You had to step out in faith to some degree. I mean, there had to be a fear factor attached to that.
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A
Yeah, there was, for sure. I'm not going to lie. We had a very comfortable life. It was very, very comfortable. My company was doing fantastic. There was all the things that you hope for are happening. And so it was, at the time, a really big decision to change. And people ask me, well, why did you do that? Why would you leave comfort and safety and security and all the things that you know, and why would you do that? And I think the answer is really simple. I had a conviction. My wife and I together had a conviction. We knew we were supposed to do this. And, you know, for those who are familiar with the Bible, the Bible says it's better to give than receive. And, you know, I don't look back on what I gave up as a loss. I look at what I've gained by being faithful to follow what I believe my conviction was. And all that has happened in me and in my family is so significant, not to mention what's happened through our family. And so for people who are, you know, in a spot in their life right now where they're wrestling with, should I do something that feels scary or do you have a conviction? You don't have to have clarity on how it all works out. I certainly didn't know how it all was going to work out, but I knew I was supposed to. And, brother, that, like, that cuts to the core of human existence, like, we're made for purpose. Find that thing.
- [23:31]
B
Indeed. Well, Adrian, I think, as you know, I just had an episode with Arthur Brooks where he talks about, you know, how to find meaning and purpose today in a life where there just seems to be less meaning and purpose. And he talks a lot about the role of faith in this, and so that you would follow your calling, pursue your calling. And even Arthur Brooks talks about there has to be an element of fear in order to keep you motivated. You talk about it as a calling, but my understanding is that you did not come to your Christian faith until later in your life. So if you would tell us just a little bit about your journey and then how ultimately, presumably, your faith really did pull you away from the creature comforts of a professional life to go in search of something that would really help touch the lives of others.
- [24:27]
A
Yeah, yeah. I want to be careful here because my path was my path, and not everyone is going to have a path that requires them to leave their company and join a nonprofit. Some will. Some probably more than do, but not everybody. The path is before you for you, so be encouraged by it, whatever it is. And for me, the path towards all I'm doing now really turned a corner when my daughter was born when I was 27. This is my first child. And I'm a very transparent guy, Kevin, so I'm going to just be transparent.
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B
Thank you.
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A
It's my first child. Yeah. And I am. I remember being at the hospital and I remember looking at this like, sweet, pure, perfect little thing, this little human. And, you know, I grew up in a family where the pride gene, particularly in the men, was really strong. Like, it was really strong. And it shaped my thinking that my, like, I was better than other people. I hate saying those words because it stings, but I really thought that way. I really looked at other people and thought I'm better than them because. And this is how many of us
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B
fall into that trap all the time.
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A
Yeah, yeah, it happens. But, you know, it does. And. And when I'm looking, I'm looking at my little girl, Adora, Same daughter I told you about a little while ago. I'm looking at her 24 years ago. And for the first time in my life, I saw another human being who I saw, like, this person is pure. I am like a schmuck compared to them. There is so much in my life that is not this pure. And it humbled me. And this is the key, right? It humbled me as the first time I allowed myself to experience some humbling. And that led me on a path to seek. Like, okay, I've heard about this Jesus guy a lot and what's this all about? Because I thought it was for you messed up people, but actually, actually I'm one of those messed up people. And the humbling was the doorway to actually know I need a savior myself. I need one and Jesus is it. And that happened when I was 27 years old. And it was the foundation for moving in a direction where I'd even care about going on a mission trip. And I'd even be open to asking God, what do you have for us? And my wife would even be considering, let's pray to have a God sized ministry to the orphan. It all stemmed out of that.
- [27:36]
B
Wow. Well, thank you for. For pursuing that. And the Lord works in mysterious ways. And so we are grateful that it turned out the way it did. One thing that, you know, you're in the nonprofit space. A lot of our listeners work in this space lead organizations maybe founded a cause. They know to some degree the answer to this question I'm about to ask, but I don't know that everybody else on the outside does. Was it smooth sailing? I mean, from this, from the idea to where you are today, Was it just a straight line to the top?
- [28:19]
A
Let's see. That's a hard no, Hard no.
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B
A couple of the hard no, Hard no.
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A
You know, So I joined the Globe Orphan Project, and everything we did was international at the time in Haiti and Africa and India and Asia and so on. We were trying to help local churches in those communities care for their most vulnerable kids where they were. And that's all we did. And then I'm on this path where I'm becoming a foster parent. And so it started to open our eyes to, well, there's a need here in our own backyard, and there's nothing wrong with us serving across the world, but we shouldn't fly over the kids in our own backyard, the ones in our own zip code. And so we began on this path, and it was just natural because my wife and I were foster parents. And so I was leading that effort. It wasn't an intentional thing. It just happened. And as we're going down this path, we're starting to learn that, man, the most vulnerable kids are in and around the foster care system. And so we are going to try to move people to care for those kids. And it's a hard thing, Kevin, to bring kids into your home that are not yours. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Some of the things I've experienced are the hardest things beyond what I could have imagined. And people are afraid of that. And then we got to learning some more, like, well, what other things are happening here in this space? And so we interviewed and met with lots of people from child welfare, and they helped us understand, gosh, if you can prevent kids from going into foster care or get them home faster because you can remove barriers, well, that will be fantastic. We have those needs. Not everybody has to foster or adopt to make a difference. And so we started going down this path of exploring that. And again, I have one of these moments. I'm reading this document. It's like a summary of where we've been for two years trying to learn. And it comes in a vision, this idea of using technology to connect kids and families in crisis with people who want to help close by. And so we faithfully went down the path. We didn't have technology expertise. I'm not a developer. I'm A business development guy. We don't know what the heck we're doing. And so the first roadblocks are, can you even build this thing? How do you even do that? And we, we fumble our way forward with a conviction that we're supposed to do this, and doors start opening. And we open a door in Texas, we do some MVP kind of work, and the next thing you know, this thing is taking off. And brother, we made a hot mess because it just took off. It was like somebody like lit a match in a woods or something, and it just caught leaves on fire that spread across the state. And now we've got these hundreds of faith communities who want to participate, and we have no idea how to build the, what we call now the care sharing network. No idea. So we ran up against bad business models in the beginning. We ran up against clunky technology in the beginning. We ran up against other ministries who were like, you're stepping on our territory. There is what you call competition. There's all kinds of hot messes. And oh, by the way, we're a nonprofit, and we got to figure out how to pay for all this. It was challenge after challenge after challenge after challenge to get here.
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B
Well, you know, I think in the nonprofit space, those that suddenly catch lightning in a bottle and embrace or find this fast opportunity for fast growth really struggle. I mean, even I think it's tougher than in business. Maybe it's the same, but there's so many aspects of nonprofit that are just tough. So, Adrian, what advice would you give now, with all your battle scars, to those listening about how they might do things any differently than you did or what lessons to take away from you did? Do you just embrace change? Do you just lean into it and run into it?
- [32:37]
A
Yeah. So this goes back to that key word of humility. If you are an entrepreneur of any kind, you are going to make some mistakes, and that's part of the deal. And if you're starting something that doesn't even exist, you should expect there's going to be more mistakes. There was no care sharing technology. There was nothing to bump up against and say, this is how you do it. So when you're innovating, you're going to make mistakes. And you know what? That's part of the journey, and it's going to require some courage. So if you put some courage next to your humility now, you're going to have the grit to, like, work in and work through those challenges. And sometimes you're going to have to back off like that. Was wrong. We were supposed to take a right here and we took a left. That was a mistake. Let's fix that. And so my encouragement to people is the fact that you have opposition doesn't mean you're doing the wrong thing. It might actually be the path to the better way. You gotta just work through it. And that doesn't mean ignore counsel from wise people and advisors around you. Yes, take that in. That's part of being humble. But don't take opposition as a signal that you should stop.
- [34:00]
B
All right. Awesome. Okay. We're part of a church that has a large ministry for foster care and adoption. Although I confess I know very little about it. I know very little. I know people involved, but I know very little about the consequences. The aspects, the challenges today, et cetera. Help us understand a little bit more what is the foster care situation like in America today. What are some of the big challenges, Challenges that you're still trying to address? What are you trying to alleviate? Just help us understand a little bit more about what you're trying to get to the root of.
- [34:40]
A
I love this question. It's very timely. So in our country, as I shared, there's over 7 million hotline calls a year. These are from teachers and doctors and neighbors and nurses. People who are seeing a child. Maybe how they show up to school with the same clothes on for a week, or they've got a bruise or child says something happened. This is the system we have. It's called mandated reporting. And so people are mandated reporters. And you've got to say, if you see it, you say it. And that's how it goes. And, you know, for the 7 million plus children where those hotline calls come in, half of them are. So it's like, okay, there's a problem, but it's not severe. You need some help, but it's not like, super dangerous. And then you have hundreds of thousands where you don't just need help, but those kids are being removed to go into the foster care system. And you would think in a country like ours that, oh, well, there's plenty of homes for kids who need to go into foster care. I mean, there should be more than enough. We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the history of the world, and people have empty bedrooms all over the place. And so, of course, but actually, on average, there is 0.57 homes per child in foster care. Okay, like, let that sit for a second. That means there's less than one home for each child in foster care, which means there are kids in foster Care who are sleeping in the lobbies and the conference rooms of child welfare agencies because there's nowhere for them to go. And that shouldn't happen in our country. And part of why it happens is because there's not enough foster homes. And part of why it happens is that a lot of those kids don't have to be in foster care. There is some preventative measure that could take place to help keep them with their biological family. And so what care Portal is helping to unlock is the capacity for people, neighbors to come alongside in those crisis situations to help prevent children from going into foster care by meeting some of the immediate needs that are there and being available for relationship. That's a way of strengthening the community. So that's prevention and then there's protection. When kids do need to go in foster care, we're foster, adoptive parents and three of our six kids we adopted through foster care. They had to go. It wasn't safe for them to be where they were. And over a long period of time, it continued to not be safe for them to go to their biological family. And so people need to do the things that we're doing. But supporting us. We had so much support when we were foster parents from our, our life group, people around us, many people in foster care or many people who are a grandparent or a cousin or something that's taking in kids, they don't have the safety net that we had. They have no margin themselves. So how do we come alongside these families who are taking in children to help keep them safe so that they can be secure and that can be established. So if you simplify this, there should be a home for every child. That's like a no brainer, right? And in the foster care space, there should be at least one home for every one child who needs it. And for us to accomplish that, we need to keep some kids out of the foster care system with prevention and strengthen the foster families through protection. And that's how we, we end the foster care crisis in our country.
- [38:37]
B
So you, you used a word relationship and that's a, that's an important word these days. Clearly what you're doing has to be built on a foundation of trust. And you're operating at such a magnitude. Tell us a little bit about how trust and relationship is part of your objective as well as your strategy as well as your guiding principles. I guess.
- [39:09]
A
Yeah, it's super strong. So, you know, it's in our space. We're, we're doing something kind of crazy. We are, we are partnering government with nonprofits, with the faith community, with the business community. We are bringing together these very different institutions to collaborate around something we all care about. This is the concept of mutual benefit. It's man, we're going to collaborate around caring for the most vulnerable child and family. And so for us to build trust, it starts with not getting into the things that we differ about government, faith community, nonprofits, business. But the thing that is common amongst us, and that's the foundation post, that's there. And when we bump up against people, and sometimes we do where they feel like, I can't trust this, sometimes we have to go slower than we wish we would. So we just have to move at a pace of trust. And we do everything that we can to accelerate that. But there aren't any shortcuts. Like, you can't go around. I read my kids this story. It's called the Bear Book. I don't know if you heard of it. It's like an old book. And the story is like, they're going on a bear hunt. And in the process of this family going on a bear hunt, you can't go over the forest. You can't go under the forest. You got to go through the forest. And you can't go over the river. You can't go under the river. You got to through the river. And this is exactly the process of building trust. You gotta go through the things where trust can be established and credibility can be secured. And we do that at a macro level, all the agencies and churches and businesses and stuff. And it comes down to the individual, one single request for one single family and that caseworker who puts it in and the faith community who shows up and the people who fund it, like, they have to see that trust at work, and then it begets itself. And so how are we able to see like, 4, 5, 6,000 of these requests met every single month? It's because we're doing all the things all the time to focus on trust.
- [41:36]
B
Make it a little personal, if you would. You had the story of your daughter helping the little girl who's. How her room was burned up. Is there another story that just springs to mind about how this all just comes together and that win win example of mutual benefit, where people who didn't know each other last week suddenly become connected and great things happen?
- [42:04]
A
Yeah. One of my favorite stories is about Mikacia. She's actually, as a side note, she's going to come share her story for the first time at the Careportal Conference, our national conference happening in Late April, and she'll share it for the first time. But, you know, six or eight years ago, she was in foster care. She's 17 years old and about to age out, and she was pregnant. And, you know, she was about to be on her own at 18, like, age out of the system. Do this yourself. And she had nothing. I mean, no family, no Thanksgiving plans, no money. And she did have a caseworker, though. And so the caseworker had the Care Portal app on her phone, and she knows that Mikacia needs a crib to keep her baby safe. Simple. So the caseworker goes to the platform and she says, I need a crib for a 17 year old aging out of foster care to keep her baby safe. If there's anything you can do to help, please do submit. And then instantly, that community, boom, it goes out to churches and businesses and individuals. And this one family, the Denbo family, they see it and they're like, we feel inspired. This is our zip code. We want to help this girl. We can get a crib. Respond, yes, I can help. The caseworker gets Mikacia's permission. They get connected. The Denbos show up at Mikacia's house. They're putting the crib together. They're asking Mikacia how she is about her story, what her baby's name's going to be. They just started being friendly with her. It wasn't a transaction. It was like, we care about you. We want to know you. And along that process, they felt inspired, convicted to do more because they could. And so they offered to throw her a baby shower, and they offered to help her go through driver's ed. And they just started doing stuff with someone that you care about. Like, they started caring about her like she was family. And not only did Mikacia's baby not go into foster care, but she's a great mom, and she ended up getting into ministry herself to come alongside kids aging out of the foster care system just like her. And when she's got a problem, she's talking to Renee Denbo. She has a friend now, eight years later, that they're still in life together. And all that started with a crib because somebody had a need and somebody said, I can do it. And they didn't stop at the transaction. They both allowed that meaningful connection to take place and that relational experience. It left a lasting impact on both of their lives. Not just Mikacia, but Renee as well. It's beautiful.
- [45:06]
B
That is a beautiful, outstanding story, Adrienne. Thank you. For those of us who are now Getting inspired by this kind of stuff. What can we do if we want to become more involved with Careportal, Maybe we want to get our church connected or our business. Maybe we want to get personally involved. Maybe we even want to personally support what you're doing. What can we do?
- [45:29]
A
All of those things are possible. The simplest thing to do is download the Careportal app. Just start there, download the app. Look for needs that are in your community. You can fund one if you're inspired to. If you want to get your church involved, the app will help get you there. You can go to the website too. Everything that you need to understand Careportal is in the app and on the website. Careportal.org but if you're saying, is there a need for me, Absolutely. We are just scratching the surface on what's possible. Like last year we had 175,000 people seen and served through neighbors caring for their neighbors like I just described. And our goal is to achieve 1 million people seen and served by their neighbors in a single year. We are trying to 5x where we are now to where we're going more than that. And why does that matter? Not because we're a business trying to make more profit. We're a nonprofit. Nobody's getting rich here. It matters because the need is so significant. Those 7 million plus children are like the, the most critical to help. And so if you're wondering, is there an opportunity for you to be a giver? Absolutely. A church leader? Absolutely. An individual who's going to meet a need once a month or two. Absolutely. There is a place, Adrian.
- [47:01]
B
I mean, we're so grateful that you and Cynthia took that mission trip to Haiti, that you stepped away from your business in faith that you have graciously you'll have led this, what you're doing, it's just, it's mind boggling and really hats off to you. So close this out, if you would, for anyone listening around the world, just based on your own journey. What encouragement, perhaps specifically and different suggestions, recommendations. But what encouragement would you give to us to think about how to live this sort of life of purpose and meaning that you're now pursuing.
- [47:42]
A
It's okay to be scared, but do it anyway. You won't regret it, I promise. And if you can hold on to that, that it's okay to be scared, do it anyway. You won't regret it then. That's what the true essence of being a human is really all about. I wouldn't trade it for the world.
- [48:11]
B
Well, again, Adrian Lewis, we are so grateful that you decided to step out in faith and look forward to being inspired by you and being led by you and following you for a long time to come. Thanks for what you're doing.
- [48:24]
A
Thank you so much brother.
- [48:26]
B
Thanks for joining us today on the Going Big Podcast. We're going to keep watching you Go Big. Thanks for tuning in to the Going Big Podcast. I hope today's conversation left you feeling energized and ready to tackle your biggest goals. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes, YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps spread the word and it gets these inspiring stories out to more people. You can also find more content, resources and updates at our website. Going Big Podcast Remember, the only limits are the ones you don't challenge, the limits that you impose on yourself. Keep pushing, keep growing and above all, keep Going Big. See you next time on the Going Big Podcast.