Over 15 years ago, while consulting at 3M, CareToBid's creator Floyd Baker had a friend and co-worker whose health began to decline severely over several months. Despite his worsening condition, his friend refused to see a doctor, fearing the medical expenses he would incur without health insurance.
After watching his friend's condition deteriorate, Floyd finally had a blunt conversation with him that came down to a simple truth:
Those words finally convinced his friend to see a doctor. The diagnosis was devastating: a brain tumor. Just days later, surgeons performed a life-saving operation that extended his life.
But survival came with a staggering price tag: medical bills totaling nearly $250,000. For someone without insurance, it seemed an impossible mountain to climb.
His friends and family organized a spaghetti dinner fundraiser to help chip away at the debt. Floyd attended, wanting to support his friend however he could. But as he looked around the room that evening, frustration set in. A few hundred dollars raised against a quarter-million-dollar debt felt like pocket change. It wasn't enough. It couldn't be enough.
Floyd went to sleep that night troubled, wrestling with the overwhelming feeling that there had to be a better way to help people in situations like his friend's.
When he woke the next morning, the entire fundraising business plan had formed in his mind overnight. He spent the next three days furiously writing it all down, trying to capture every detail of the vision that had come to him.
That vision, over 15 years in the making, is the website you're using today.
Although CareToBid came too late to help the friend who inspired the idea, Floyd's hope is that others facing impossible circumstances can benefit from this platform. Every auction, every bid, and every dollar raised represents the belief that communities coming together can make a real difference in people's lives.
That's why we CareToBid.