Written by: Sean Pieri, Vice President of Development, Driscoll Children’s Hospital Foundation, Corpus Christi, TX 

As a young gift officer, I read a story in the New York Times about NYU’s quest to raise $1 billion. In the article, then university president L. Jay Oliva was quoted as saying, “The best way to raise money is not by having the best brochures, charts, fundraising thermometers and so forth, but to keep constantly on the road. Shoe leather!” 

I have never forgotten that quote.  

In fact, I have a copy of it on my desk which I read regularly. It is a friendly reminder that true philanthropy is a result of building relationships, which requires, as Dr. Oliva said, ‘shoe leather.’ 

In May 2024, Driscoll Children’s Hospital will open our second stand-alone hospital – this one in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) about a 2.5-hour drive from our headquarters in Corpus Christi. The 120-bed facility will operate in the heart of one of the poorest and medically underserved regions in the United States. While predominantly Hispanic, the residents of the Valley suffer from obesity, diabetes, mental health disorders, and congenital diseases at a higher rate than anywhere in the country. Having Driscoll in the community is a godsend. 

Over the past few years, our hospital has been the beneficiary of increasing generosity through the excellent work of our local partners with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Much of this increase has come from partners located in the RGV in anticipation of the new hospital coming to the region. It is also a result of a very intentional approach by our team. 

During the pandemic, knowing that plans for the new hospital were underway, our team started to reimagine our relationships and communications with the CMN Hospitals partners – especially those located hundreds of miles away. Throughout the process, Dr. Oliva’s comments about shoe leather served as a constant reminder – we needed to deepen the relationships with all our partners, and to do so, we needed to engage with them at a significantly increased level. 

These conversations led to the creation of a culturally aware strategic plan that is reviewed and updated on an annual basis. The focus is on outreach and engagement. To execute this plan, we have grown our CMN Hospitals team, enabling us to spend more time with the partners both in person and through other communication vehicles. We have overhauled our marketing efforts systemwide, focusing them on storytelling and utilizing social media in ways we had not before. And, our team has applied ‘shoe leather’ to develop personal relationships with all our partners.  

As I think about where we are today with our annual giving efforts – in which CMN Hospitals plays a significant role – we continue to make substantial progress. However, the work is not complete. While we do now have nicer charts and brochures than we have had historically, these are not the drivers of that success. The driver to the success is utilizing the CMN Hospitals network in a very intentional and proactive way to build a relationship driven program.  

Success in any endeavor is the result of having a clear plan, a positive approach, hard work, and grit. Driscoll Children’s Hospital and I are fortunate to have teammates dedicated to CMN Hospitals who encompass all these attributes and more. As a result, the children of South Texas are receiving the medical care they so deserve.