Apparo and Accenture support has helped the Lupus Foundation avoid “scrambling” and ensured successful ability to work and serve those living with Lupus.
We caught up recently with Jenny Prince, Executive Director of the Lupus Foundation of America, North Carolina (LFANC) to hear how her organization is handling their operations in the face of COVID-19. She explains that today most people are faced with a life that rings quite familiar to Lupus Thrivers who deal with isolation and worry about exposure to harmful elements on a daily basis. While serving their needs may be more challenging, given the increased stress on their lives, it’s more important than ever.
Jenny shares that had the pandemic happened before they won the Technology Innovation Award (sponsored by Accenture and now known as the Mission Possible Award) in 2016 and embarked on other work with Apparo, “we would have been scrambling.”
Key to their current ability to serve Lupus Thrivers is a text messaging system that was developed through their work with Apparo and Accenture. “We used to use that system once per month to communicate with our constituents. Now, with the crisis, we are using it once a week to deliver critical information. It was especially important with the scare around the availability of HQC, a medication that many of those living with Lupus depend upon. It was noted for its potential in curing coronavirus, so there was fear it would be hoarded. There have been a lot of updates to deliver and we have been able to use our text messaging system to do it,” explains Jenny.
They have shifted their use of “phenomenally successful” Facebook Live, a channel also developed through their work with Apparo and Accenture, to deliver communications, check in with constituents, thank donors and build community awareness of Lupus.
More recently, their work with Apparo’s Tech Therapy team to revamp their phone system has proved to be incredibly valuable. “Today, when I can’t be in my office, I can still send and receive calls via an app on my cell phone, as if I were. People may not take a call if they don’t recognize my cell phone number, but because of this tool, the call is coming from the Lupus Foundation. This is very helpful for being in touch with our walk team captains and for stewarding donors, which is especially critical at this time,” explains Jenny.
