How Leading Wellness Franchise iCRYO is Setting the Standard for Disaster Relief in Haiti With Massive Donation

In August, the nation of Haiti was hit by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that crumbled homes and buildings, killing more than 2,100 people. With the death count anticipated to continue rising, this earthquake unfortunately adds to Haiti’s history of devastating earthquakes and natural disasters due to the nation’s unique geology, making Haiti extremely susceptible to seismic activity. 

More than 84,000 homes were damaged or destroyed after the Haiti Earthquake, with over half a million children left without necessary food, shelter, or clean water, according to UNICEF. Hard enough to believe, the nation is still recovering from the 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, making the nation at the top of a global priority list for disaster relief. 

That’s exactly what iCRYO did earlier this month, committing to donating over 1,000 IV’s to Mission of Hope, a nonprofit organization that provides healthcare, education, employment and hope for Haiti, supporting the organization to help Haitian people who need medical and wellness assistance while recovering from the recent earthquake. 

iCRYO, a leading health and wellness franchise out of Houston, Texas, offers cryotherapy IV infusions and additional wellness services to the communities they are located in, including a turnkey franchise system for business owners .

“It’s been a blessing to be able to give back,” said Kyle Jones, COO and co-founder of iCRYO in an interview with Disrupt Magazine. 

“We’ve always envisioned being at the state of the company where we could give to those in need. Sometimes people need more than just a monetary commitment. After the horrible disaster in Haiti that shook the country, we made a company-wide effort to raise awareness around supplies in the disaster relief efforts. Collectively, we raised and are donating 1,000+ IV Hydration bags and shipping them to Haiti to help stock some of their needs on the medical side. We always look for creative ways to help and feel compelled to continue our partnership with the Mission of Hope!”

Photo Credit: Kyle Jones / Submission

iCRYO, which works very closely with the founders of Mission of Hope, chose to maintain consistent communication so that the company could be on the front line in their efforts to act fast, by bringing the entire organization into the conversation. “We ran a promotion at every location for our guests,” Jones told Disrupt. 

“For every IV that was purchased over a certain time period, we matched it at the corporate level. For every IV that was purchased, we included another IV into the donation pool for Haiti. We wanted everyone that represents iCRYO to have the ability to contribute to this amazing cause. It was amazing to see everyone rally together in our mission to make this happen.”

The biggest challenge, according to Jones, for companies wanting to get involved in disaster relief, but can’t is that most companies in an early stage are hindered by the cost of donating. “Beyond the financial burden, the time and manpower needed takes away from companies that have smaller internal staff that are trying to donate. Many companies that don’t have a huge investment group of funding or an entity behind them are at a disadvantage. iCRYO has passed that stage and has the ability to allocate money, time, and resources to disaster relief efforts.”

iCRYO wants to continue setting an example for the health and wellness space, sharing their three tips for what others in the industry should be focused on.

#1 – Find Other Organizations That Mirror Your Relief Initiatives 

In efforts to streamline the process of aiding and donating, it’s important for your company to find an organization that has a similar, primary focus on initiatives such as disaster relief. 

Here, iCRYO leveraged its pre-existing relationship with the founders of Mission of Hope, choosing to allocate its time and resources to disaster relief. You should always be focused on whether what you’re doing is truly making a difference. And that answer should always be YES.

#2 – Maintain Consistent Communication with the Organization

To maintain a healthy relationship with organizations, you must maintain regular, consistent communications which allows you to stay in the loop on what is needed at any given time. 

Throughout this process, Kyle maintained regular communication with Mission of Hope by personally taking the calls and in-person meetings with members of Mission of Hope’s executive and operations team. iCRYO also participated regularly in the marketing and social media-related calls to ensure the franchise was delivering proper awareness across social media and in any interviews. 

#3 – Be Ready to Execute At Any Time

Lastly, you and your team must always be on your toes, ready to execute when the time comes. Typically after a natural disaster, most individuals are in need of water, food, medical supplies, and manpower to help them navigate the initial stages of the disaster. 

iCRYO looked beyond simply donating money, and instead, looked for alternative ways to commit the time and manpower to each day of relief. While donating money can help provide those necessities, you need a strategy to continue providing any and all upfront help needed. And the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath has continued to prove as the time to practice what iCRYO has preached since the day the company first came into being.

The bottom line is iCRYO was started out of a pain point that needed a solution and grew into a company that put customers first and valued feedback from them, becoming a leader in health and wellness.