We had the good fortune of connecting with Analyn Scott and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Analyn, how does your business help the community?

It may surprise you to know that kidney disease is the 9th leading cause of death in the U.S., and it’s responsible for more deaths each year than breast cancer or prostate cancer. Even more shocking is that 90% of people with kidney disease don’t even know that they have it!

My husband, Raymond Scott, was part of that 90% when his kidneys failed over 24 years ago at the age of 29.

The knowledge we gained through our own experiences inspired us to create 1in9 Charities, Inc., a non-profit organization on a mission to change the trajectory of kidney disease and save millions of lives around the world by raising awareness about this silent killer, promoting preventative and corrective practices, inspiring hope in those afflicted, and expediting research and development of regenerative treatments and solutions.


What should our readers know about your business?
Q: What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

During the summer of 2014 I had a vision that was so vivid and profound that it could not be ignored. Raymond, our two children, and two mentors of mine were standing in front of me and I could see them clearly. Behind them were the silhouettes of millions of people as far as the eye could see and the message was “we’ve been waiting for you”.

My instincts were already telling me that a change was coming, but this was confirmation for me to draw a line in the sand. Despite the fact that it was my most successful year to date, having doubled what I made the year before, I knew in my soul that this chapter was ending and I would be leaving my career before the end of the year to prepare for an unknown chapter to begin.

In February of 2015, just a few months after leaving my corporate job, Raymond and I were invited to the National Kidney Foundation of Arizona’s Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) Gala. This was our first exposure to the Kidney Foundation or any kidney support organization since Raymond’s own kidneys failed 17 years earlier.

That evening I was hearing statistics for the first time that I found to be alarming and completely unacceptable. Neither Raymond or I knew that diabetes and high blood pressure are the two leading causes of kidney disease…and it was high blood pressure that caused Raymond’s kidneys to fail. What do you mean 26 Million American’s or 1 in 9 adults have kidney disease…yet 90% don’t even know it?! Raymond was part of that 90% that didn’t know when he “crashed” into dialysis!

My internal fire was lit and I knew we needed to take action to ring an alarm and help save others from “crashing” into dialysis or worse. I wasn’t sure how we would start, but by the end of the evening I was pointing to one of the Celebrity Star dancers and teasing Raymond saying “that could be you next year”. My laughter soon stopped and I’m sure Raymond could tell by the expression on my face what I was about to say next…”why not you?!” And sure enough, Raymond was the first patient actively on dialysis to be a Celebrity Star Dancer at NKF Arizona’s 10th Annual DWTS gala on February 20, 2016…18 years to the exact day that his kidneys failed!

Thanks to Raymond being on home hemodialysis, that I administer for him 5 days a week, he was able to have the energy and stamina to handle the 6 months of grueling dance practices leading up to the gala. During that time I was trying to come up with some creative fundraising ideas to support the event and I thought of doing some sort of social media dance challenge. That lead me to meeting a fantastic videographer, Taylor Wellman of Financial Potion, and we clicked immediately! During that initial meeting I told her that I could see us filming a documentary and she caught the vision too!

It didn’t take long to realize that my vision was much bigger than a documentary, that it was our purpose and destiny to help others on a larger scale…and that is how 1in9 Charities, Inc. was birthed.

From day one I was clear that we needed to shatter the status quo in order to change the trajectory of kidney disease and save millions of lives. I quickly determined we would do so through our 3 key pillars, Awareness, Prevention, and Regenerative Medicine. We then poured our hearts, souls, time and savings into getting our vision and mission off the ground and out to the public.

Since then we’ve traveled across the US, published a book: 1in9 Tribe – Kidney Disease Warriors Beating the Drum of Hope and Change, and did complete our documentary “A Dance With Destiny”.

Our dance continues, and the need to amplify the sound of our drum has intensified. There are now 37 Million Americans, or 1 in 7 adults with kidney disease. 90% still don’t know! It’s now projected that 1 in 3 American adults are at risk for kidney disease in their lifetime, and that by 2030 it’s projected that 80 Million Americans will have kidney disease!

According to the International Society of Nephrology, more than 850 million people have kidney disease globally, which is roughly double the number of people living with diabetes (422 million) and 20 times more than the prevalence of cancer worldwide (42 million) or people living with AIDS/HIV (36.7 million)

We are not detoured. Collectively, as more kidney disease warriors and advocates join us in this fight, we can change the outcome of what’s being projected if we take significant action now.

We are working with and welcome additional community groups, churches, and other organizations to partner with us to host free screenings of our documentary to audiences both virtually and in person.

Additionally, we launched the 1in9 Tribe Podcast this year on our 1in9 YouTube channel and 1in9KidneyChallenge FaceBook page so that we can address the myriad of topics and stories surrounding kidney disease. Stay tuned, there’s so much more to come.

With each person we meet, with every story shared, with every person empowered, and every time we see hope rekindled, disease interrupted, solutions discovered, health restored, those countless silhouettes that have been waiting for us come into view. They count. They matter. They could be you!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

I love to travel, but as a 5th generation native-Arizonan, this is home!

When friends or family come to visit the first thing I do to help get them acclimated is to provide them with a water bottle (or a case) and advise they don’t leave home or their hotel without taking one for the road.

Next I show off our our gorgeous mountains via a driving tour that typically takes us by the Papago and Camelback mountains, followed by a stop at the Biltmore Fashion Park to grab a bite to eat at either True Food Kitchen or Season’s 52.

Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix is a fun place to take a stroll, especially on First Friday’s. A stop at the Onyx Sweet Shoppe is a must!

And no trip to the Valley of the Sun would be complete without experiencing some good Sonoran Mexican food! My favorites include the original family-owned Garcia’s Mexican Food Restaurant on 35th Ave in Phoenix, where my go-to is the pollo fundido!; Rosita’s in Tempe or Mesa and their #35 lunch special; Rito’s Mexican Food on 7th Street, their green chile is amazing!


The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It takes a village to raise a Social Entrepreneur, so I want to give a shoutout to all those who have been part of my beautifully diverse village throughout my life and have helped love, inspire, support, challenge, encourage, pray for, collaborate with, and mentor me.

The list of people who have made, and continue to make, a significant impact in my life and the success of my organization is far too great to narrow down and single out. Therefore, I’d like to give a shoutout to someone who has no idea how much of an impact they have made in my journey to discover and have the faith, courage, and stamina to step into my purpose and walk it out.

Although we have not had the opportunity to meet yet, Bishop T.D. Jakes and his book Instinct was the catalyst back in the Spring of 2014 that shifted me towards my purpose and destiny to create 1in9…and so much more.

By trusting my instincts to leave my successful 14 year career in I.T. Sales in November of 2014, and continue to follow God’s breadcrumbs, I was able to shift from being a Solution Provider in the technology world and become a Solution Provider in the world to change and save lives.

Throughout the past 7+ years Bishop Jakes has continued to inspire, mentor, and encourage me from afar through his sermons, additional books, and conferences…including the latest International Leadership Summit he hosted this past Spring in Charlotte, NC that empowered me with new tools to be a “Master Builder” of my vision to expand 1in9, and my village, globally.

Website: 1in9kidneychallenge.com

Facebook: @1in9kidneychallenge

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCJGZxonMTYzerjdEXUj7Gkw

Image Credits
Photos by Elena & Jim (labeled on one of Raymond and I speaking)

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