In 2011, the Atlanta insurance community came together for the first time to form an alliance called Insure the Cure in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Insurance agencies, companies, brokers and reinsurers from across the city joined forces to raise awareness about cystic fibrosis and fundraise in support of a cure for this devastating disease. The effort was led by Snellings Walters Insurance Agency.
In the same way that many great initiatives are born, the beginning of Insure the Cure was serendipitous. Clay Snellings' youngest daughter, Emily, was diagnosed with CF at three months old. Clay, a partner at Snellings Walters, felt fortunate that from the beginning Emily received the highest-quality care and treatment for CF. While they participated in a few Foundation events, Clay kept his working life and his family's fight against CF separate.
That was until Clay had to cancel a business trip with Chubb Insurance so he could be with Emily, who had landed in the hospital. By a strange twist of fate, Chubb was a company dedicated to participating in the Foundation's
Great Strides walks each year. The company asked Clay and his colleagues at Snellings Walters to join them. They did -- and raised $35,000 in the walk in 2011.
For Clay, that was the beginning of Insure the Cure. The partners at Snellings Walters rallied around him and his family to raise awareness and support the Foundation -- something so personal and meaningful for the Snellings family -- that it became the cornerstone of Snellings Walters' community service.
“I've been honored to be a leader and help raise awareness about cystic fibrosis with my colleagues in the insurance industry -- not just for my family and Emily, but for the more than 30,000 people across the country with CF that need help and can't fight this disease alone,” Clay said.
At the next Great Strides, Clay and the partners of Snellings Walters reached out to insurance vendors, partners and suppliers to share their commitment to finding a cure for CF and ask for help. They doubled their donations and brought in more than $70,000.
After becoming the Great Strides presenting sponsor in Atlanta in their third year of participating, Snellings Walters officially formed Insure the Cure and invited the entire insurance community of the city to join them at the walk. Initially, eight teams joined. Today, 40 teams make up Insure the Cure. Together, they have raised more than $1.2 million over the last six years.
“The incredible thing about Insure the Cure is that we're not only raising money, telling the story of people with CF and promoting the work of the Foundation -- we're showing our CF community that the insurance community cares about people with CF,” Clay said.
Clay has his sights on encouraging other industries across the country to help find a cure for CF.
“I've been part of this industry for 30 years, my whole career, and I see Insure the Cure as a great way for national teams to be more effective,” Clay said. “Our 10-year vision is to have the program in half the cities hosting Great Strides walks.”
Insure the Cure efforts have expanded beyond Atlanta to New York City, Nashville and other cities -- and has a goal of recruiting 50 teams for their local Great Strides walk. And, programs such as Banking for a Cure have worked with Clay to organize other companies in their respective industries to come together to fight CF.
If you're interested in joining Clay and beginning an industry alliance in your city, please contact Elizabeth Thompson at
ethompson@cff.org.