by Leslie Graham
President and CEO, Primary Care Coalition
Primary Care Coalition kicked off our 30th Anniversary year on November 10th with a live storytelling show. The event had it all: an official county proclamation in honor of 30 years, remembrances of trailblazing PCC employees, and amazing stories from our staff and partners. It was the perfect way to start an anniversary year, celebrating the community impact we have achieved and looking forward to our next big ideas.
Thank you to everyone who was able to join us. It was such a joy to gather in person again! For those who weren’t able to be there, it’s not too late! We will be presenting a special streaming encore via YouTube on Monday, November 28th at 7:30 pm.
Some of the stories will give you a sense of the work we do, but the real takeaway is connecting with who we—and our partners—are and why we do this work. Our work is to make change at the systems level. To some this can seem conceptual or analytical in nature. Yet systems are made up of people, with motivations and experiences we can all connect to. That is the part of this storytelling show I love so much and why I’m so thrilled we were able to return to it this year.
One of our storyteller, Sergeant Chad Matthews, had an entire career trajectory before he ever joined the Montgomery County Police Department. A single flight changed the course of his life, but even that change wasn’t linear. He experienced different areas of the police force before he became Crisis Response Support Section Supervisor, and all those experiences shape the way he approaches his job now.
Our Board Chair Shawn Bartley owns a small law firm imbued with his big personality. He is the kind of person who has never met a stranger, and his ability to connect with his community literally saved his life.
One of my favorite stories was one I’ve heard many times before but never quite like this. Philip Jackson visits PCC most years to present the Mary C. Jackson Award in honor of his late mother, one of PCC’s early staff members who helped create many of our enduring programs and our culture of ‘Good Works, Done Well”. I knew the work of PCC, and being with her PCC family, gave Mary such a sense of purpose that she continued throughout her illness and almost right up to her death. What I didn’t know was how hard won that sense of belonging really was or how her own sobering life experiences drove Mary’s energy to make new services a reality for others.
PCC is truly a coalition of many, who over the past 30 years and for the decades to come, seek to make lasting changes to the systems that influence the health of vulnerable individuals and families. In this season of gratitude, it was beautiful to be reminded that if you can connect with your own unique history of struggle or loss or luck, if you can use that combination of experiences that is yours alone to make systems work a little better for everyone, you’re a part of our coalition.
Whether you are new to learning about PCC or a long-time supporter, I invite you to be awed by the personal experiences in our storytelling show. The virtual gathering to watch the show highlights is on November 28th, and I can’t wait to “see” you there.
In this season of giving, I also invite you to consider a gift of support to PCC. Systems level work and coalition building is essential and impactful, as our 30 years and our storytellers have proved. Yet it is often overlooked for the immediate satisfaction of one person getting services today. PCC works to ensure all in need have access to high quality healthcare and related services well into the future. Thank you for being part of our coalition.
President and CEO, Primary Care Coalition
Primary Care Coalition kicked off our 30th Anniversary year on November 10th with a live storytelling show. The event had it all: an official county proclamation in honor of 30 years, remembrances of trailblazing PCC employees, and amazing stories from our staff and partners. It was the perfect way to start an anniversary year, celebrating the community impact we have achieved and looking forward to our next big ideas.
Thank you to everyone who was able to join us. It was such a joy to gather in person again! For those who weren’t able to be there, it’s not too late! We will be presenting a special streaming encore via YouTube on Monday, November 28th at 7:30 pm.
Some of the stories will give you a sense of the work we do, but the real takeaway is connecting with who we—and our partners—are and why we do this work. Our work is to make change at the systems level. To some this can seem conceptual or analytical in nature. Yet systems are made up of people, with motivations and experiences we can all connect to. That is the part of this storytelling show I love so much and why I’m so thrilled we were able to return to it this year.
One of our storyteller, Sergeant Chad Matthews, had an entire career trajectory before he ever joined the Montgomery County Police Department. A single flight changed the course of his life, but even that change wasn’t linear. He experienced different areas of the police force before he became Crisis Response Support Section Supervisor, and all those experiences shape the way he approaches his job now.
Our Board Chair Shawn Bartley owns a small law firm imbued with his big personality. He is the kind of person who has never met a stranger, and his ability to connect with his community literally saved his life.
One of my favorite stories was one I’ve heard many times before but never quite like this. Philip Jackson visits PCC most years to present the Mary C. Jackson Award in honor of his late mother, one of PCC’s early staff members who helped create many of our enduring programs and our culture of ‘Good Works, Done Well”. I knew the work of PCC, and being with her PCC family, gave Mary such a sense of purpose that she continued throughout her illness and almost right up to her death. What I didn’t know was how hard won that sense of belonging really was or how her own sobering life experiences drove Mary’s energy to make new services a reality for others.
PCC is truly a coalition of many, who over the past 30 years and for the decades to come, seek to make lasting changes to the systems that influence the health of vulnerable individuals and families. In this season of gratitude, it was beautiful to be reminded that if you can connect with your own unique history of struggle or loss or luck, if you can use that combination of experiences that is yours alone to make systems work a little better for everyone, you’re a part of our coalition.
Whether you are new to learning about PCC or a long-time supporter, I invite you to be awed by the personal experiences in our storytelling show. The virtual gathering to watch the show highlights is on November 28th, and I can’t wait to “see” you there.
In this season of giving, I also invite you to consider a gift of support to PCC. Systems level work and coalition building is essential and impactful, as our 30 years and our storytellers have proved. Yet it is often overlooked for the immediate satisfaction of one person getting services today. PCC works to ensure all in need have access to high quality healthcare and related services well into the future. Thank you for being part of our coalition.
A copy of our current financial statement is available upon request by contacting the Primary Care Coalition at 8757 Georgia Avenue, 10th Floor, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 and 301-628-3405. Documents and information submitted to the State of Maryland under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations Act are available from the Office of the Secretary.
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