“A place where we raise one another up to a better tomorrow.”
I value people.
This is the reason why I started a company that serves the needs of senior adults. This is the reason why we consistently open our home to my kids’ friends who do not have a good home life or a place to stay. This is the reason why I love creating opportunities for our team members to advance their career and have a better life. And this is the reason why my heart breaks when I see racism and social injustice in our world.
Let me be clear, this is in no way a political statement. This is not a Republican or a Democratic issue. This is humanity issue. This is a statement to say that every life has value regardless of color, gender, or religious belief.
As I told our team members this week, for me to remain silent on this issue is a dereliction of my duty as a leader. It is my desire that SilverPoint Senior Living be known as a company that values people.
I want our residents and family members to know that we will lovingly care for every resident, regardless of their background or the color or their skin.
I want our team members to know that they are loved and valued and that they will all have equal opportunity for advancement within our company.
I want SilverPoint to be a company that raises people up rather than pushing them down.
In 1969, when African-American citizens in the United States were not permitted to swim in community pools alongside white people, Fred Rogers brought a African-American police officer to his television show and invited him to cool his feet with him in a small, plastic wading pool. Mr. Rogers then helped Officer Clemmons dry his feet.
Sound familiar? "After dinner, Jesus poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him." (John 13:4-5).
Mr. Rogers never openly preached on his show, despite being an ordained Presbyterian minister. Yet he preached volumes in this simple act of love.
I want SilverPoint to be a reflection of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.
A place where all people are accepted and encouraged to live a better life.
A place where people are treated with dignity, honor, respect, and equality.
A place where we raise one another up to a better tomorrow.
In a world where you can be anything, I choose to be a Mr. Rogers. Won’t you be my neighbor?
Shawn Corzine
CEO SilverPoint Senior Living