We recently connected with Doyinsola Oluwatosin and have shared our conversation below.

Doyinsola, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, let’s take a stroll on memory lane, back to when you were an apprentice or intern. What’s a memorable story from that time that you can share with us?

My final semester in college is a perfect scenario to your question. Since I majored in Health Care Management, I was required to enroll in an internship program. This involved finding potential organizations that embraced or accepted interns. As a result, instead of attending classes, I was saddled with the responsibility of finding a place to intern. The process was quite challenging; however, I was fortunate to secure an internship opportunity at Edenwald Retirement Community. Andrew Jones, the HR Director and a Vice President at the time took a chance with me. He provided me the opportunity to intern in the HR department for 5 months where he exposed me to different HR functions and taught me the ins and outs of their HR department. The opportunity he provided shaped me, and I began to believe in myself. Through interning, I discovered some strengths and worked on areas of improvement. I became a go-getter, meticulous, built my people relations skills, constantly worked under pressure and was able to adapt into varying environments. Upon completion of my internship program, I was fortunate to be hired on as a HR Assistant and began my career in HR/Healthcare. I would forever be grateful to Andrew Jones for giving me the opportunity. He motivated me, supported me, helped me build my strengths while working on areas that needed improvement. He encouraged me to pursue my SHRM certification and enroll in a Master’s program. While I worked with Edenwald, I was also able to train other interns and share my knowledge with them. This experience was life changing and taught me never to look down on other, but to be supportive of others along the way.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Doyinsola Oluwatosin, and I am a wife, mum, and the founder of iCurea Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in Houston, TX, which focuses on providing basic psychological, emotional support and relief to the underprivileged in the community. I have a bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Care Management from Towson University and a dual Master of Business Administration and Healthcare Administration from University of Maryland Global Campus.
I have worked in long term care facilities for 13 years as a HR Director and Nursing Homes Administrator and this is where I developed the passion for giving back to seniors and others in the community.

Prior to the creation of iCurea Foundation, we had been operating under a project name called “Caring for the elderly” (Elderly Project) which started in 2016. The vision for the Elderly Project was to provide a holiday season filled with love and joy for the seniors in the community. We chose the Christmas season because this is a holiday filled with family traditions and gift exchanges.
Our particular focus was (and is still) on low-income nursing homes because most residents in these homes have busy family members who either live far away or do not have time. Some residents have no family members to care or visit during this period, so we decided to bridge the gap of loneliness by buying gifts for the seniors, wrapping the gifts and then distributing it around Christmas.
Volunteers for this project work tirelessly to purchase each gift, wrap them individually at our yearly wrapping event, and present gifts to low-income nursing homes around the Houston vicinity.

As the foundation grew, so did our giving expand to include people in shelters, single parents, and those in need. Today, apart from supporting the seniors, we provide care packages (hygiene products, socks, snacks, and non-perishable can food) to the homeless in Downtown Houston. We also have our yearly Baby Drive that supports parents with baby essentials like diapers, wipes, new and used baby items. This year, our Baby Drive is scheduled in July.
It is important to state that Covid reshaped the way we conducted our giving. When Covid struck, we were unable to personally visit seniors in nursing homes and we created the Kindness Project for Kids initiative where elementary school children make handcrafted Christmas cards for seniors. The cards made are included in the Christmas gifts donated to seniors in low-income nursing homes. Since covid, the handcrafted cards made by wonderful kids have become part of our yearly tradition to seniors.

Since our existence in 2016, the foundation has accomplished the following:
 Donated approximately 2,690 Christmas gifts to seniors.
 Donated baby essentials (diapers, wipes, and family new/used baby items) to support families in need since 2019.
 Supported 280 homeless people with Care Package items since 2021.
 We provide volunteer opportunities for teens to serve in different positions.
 We partner with other organizations that their project or mission align with ours.

I am extremely grateful for these achievements, the work that we have done so far and the support that we constantly receive from our community, family, friends and the awesome iCurea team members. There is still a lot to be done and we hope that we can collaborate with more organizations to impact our community.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

When building a team, you must understand everyone’s strengths, weaknesses, as well as their temperament. It is extremely important to include everyone in the decision-making processes. Let your team know your value, respect and be open to their feedback. To increase and maintain morale, always appreciate your team members. Thank them often for the knowledge, skills, and expertise they bring to the team. People are willing to do more if they feel valued and appreciated.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

We are very transparent with what we do with funds received. We share what the donation funds are used for. It is important for people to see where their funds are going and what the funds are used for. So, our transparency has helped build our reputation and partnership.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.icureafoundation.org
• Instagram: @icureafoundation
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/icureafoundation
• Linkedin: iCurea Foundation
• Twitter: @icureaF