Next week, I’ll be in Orlando, Florida, for our annual conference. There are many things I love about this national meeting that brings together so many inspiring members of the Caring Hearts family, but I want to focus on just one of them today.
The Starfish Pin
A festive awards banquet concludes our annual conference each year. One of my favorite awards to present is the Starfish Pin, based on the popular “Starfish Story.” If you haven’t heard it before, it goes like this:
A boy on a long, long beach that’s dotted with thousands and thousands of starfish is throwing them, one by one, back into the sea. A passerby asks him why.
“Because the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don’t throw them further in, they’ll die.”
“But don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it? You can’t possibly save them all! Your efforts won’t make any difference.”
The boy listens calmly, and then bends over to pick up another starfish. As he tosses it into the ocean, he says, “It made a difference to that one.”
We award the Starfish Pin to Caring Hearts owners who have made “exceptional contributions” in mentoring others. The impact of these selfless acts, though relatively small, resonates across the Caring Hearts community. Those who try to make a difference in whatever way they can are helping all of us grow into more effective in-home care providers.
Small Yet Meaningful Contributions
I think the starfish story also reflects our business’s goal of helping families across the country deal with their difficult care challenges.
Today, many are faced with the responsibility of providing care for an aging parent as well as for their own children, and these family caregivers come to us for a helping hand. Half of the American adults are currently part of this sandwich generation, and we are trying to help solve this growing problem. Our relatively small but meaningful contributions do make a difference—a big one—to the people we’re able to help.
I’m excited to meet with the rest of the Caring Hearts family starting Monday, so we can continue to grow together, providing the best care possible across the country.
Here’s to making life easier, one client at a time.
See you in Florida!*
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