JobSpeaker Ron Tyson - A Day Job to Feed his Stomach, a Nonprofit to Feed his Soul

JobSpeakers

Sometimes you meet people who really ARE changing the world. Our guest this week, Ron Tyson, spends his days ensuring our healthcare records get to the right place and recounts a twisting journey that involved quitting college, joining the Air Force, going back to school, and using a drug prescription data entry job and work ethic advice from his grandmother as a springboard for an extremely successful career. Yet while he was moving up the ranks, he was also asking himself, "What is my purpose here on earth?" About five years ago, at the age of 52, Ron found that purpose when he visited his grandmother in a nursing home and saw just how many seniors lay on their beds without a single card or keepsake decorating their beds or window sills. Thinking, "there's something we can do here," Ron did just that - he started a nonprofit called Bring Smiles to Seniors that connects kind-hearted card writers to lonely seniors in nursing homes across the country. In its first year, Bring Smiles to Seniors delivered 7,719 cards of joy and human connection. This year that number has already grown to 157,000 and Ron expects after the holidays to have distributed almost 200,000 cards to seniors in all 50 states! As Ron put it, "I have a day job to feed my stomach, but I have my nonprofit to feed my soul." Don't miss this life-affirming episode!