Meet Roni Warda | Vice President of The Care Organization, Vice President and Co-Founder of MedRoyal

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

Hi Roni, how does your business help the community?
The CARE Organization was founded by my longtime best friend George Papamatheakis and I in 2019. Since then, the organization has been an unstoppable force in helping to provide food, clothing, shelter, supplies, and education for children facing the most at-risk, dire circumstances. CARE has put tremendous focus behind bringing aid to children who are victims of human trafficking and abuse in Arizona.

Long term, we see our footprint expanding globally. We plan on raising an exponential amount of funds that will drive powerful change, building treatment centers for abuse recovery, and helping as many children and young adults as we can around the world.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Growing up I knew how fortunate I was to have parents who did everything in their power to protect me. My childhood could have gone in an entirely different direction if I didn’t have such amazing, structured parents. As a father of a young girl myself, I want to be the same positive influence my parents were for me. The CARE Organization isn’t just a nonprofit, it’s incredibly personal and how we can make a great impact on this world. There’s a critical need for every child who’s been a victim of these heinous circumstances to not only have the resources essential for a successful recovery, but to also feel empowered to thrive again as adults. At CARE we believe it’s our mission and responsibility to change that.

My parents have an incredible work ethic, and passed that on to my sister and I. When it came to school and later professionally, we’ve always felt inspired to work as hard as we could because of where we’ve come from. I’ve worked my way up the ranks in the banking industry and opened MedRoyal, a leading naturopathic and aesthetic practice with seven locations in the Valley. While it’s been incredibly fulfilling to start a business from the ground up, my greatest achievement thus far has been launching CARE Organization best friend, George. Since 2019, CARE has provided aid and relief to children across Arizona who are facing crisis situations such as trafficking, abuse, poverty and hunger.

As much as you think you can take on anything, partnerships are essential. If you want to accomplish great things, it’s typically not something you can do alone. The trick is to find people who align with your goals and missions, so you can meet those together.

Last Fall, we hosted our first major fundraising event, a Red Carpet Gala. The black tie event raised awareness and helped fund resources that help young trafficking victims rehabilitate from the trauma and neglect of these atrocious circumstances. Proceeds went towards the purchase and renovation of a new local group home in the Valley, which will serve as a haven for young girls currently in recovery. The event itself was not only an incredible undertaking from every perspective (especially for two people who have never put on an event of any magnitude let alone a Gala), but it also happened to be massively successful. We had over 500 people in attendance and raised $160,000. It’s now our signature event we plan to host every year.

The work we do at CARE isn’t always simple and issues these children face are excruciating at best. Arizona is a prime area in the country for s*x and labor trafficking and we have a lot of work to do to help change that. But while the day-to-day can be complex, our objective as CARE remains simple, which is to help those who are vulnerable and cannot do so for themselves. And that’s not something we’re willing to waver on.

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?
Any friend of mine knows that when they’re visiting me, they’re spending the majority of their time outside taking advantage of everything Arizona has to offer! First stop would definitely be Lake Pleasant, where we would wakeboard, paddle board and go tubing. I love to go up North to Sedona to hike Oak Creek Canyon. I also couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to take them to a few of the championship golf courses in the area. At night, we’d hit up a Suns game and go to a few of my favorite restaurants across the Valley including Tia Carmen at the J.W. Marriott, Ocean 44 in Old Town or a neighborhood favorite, Sushi Brokers.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Hands down, my parents, as without their courage and support I would not be here today. When I was just four years old, my family moved to America from Beirut. At the time, Lebanon was in the midst of a civil war. We could hear missiles from our beds at night and suffice it to say it was an incredibly scary time. The entire experience at such a young age really ingrained in me that my parents would do everything they possibly could to ensure that I not only felt safe, but had an opportunity to live a life to my fullest potential. And, I’ve really worked hard throughout my life to make sure that became a reality for me and my family.

Website: thecareorg.com

Instagram: @thecareorganization

Facebook: facebook.com/thecareorganizationaz

Image Credits
www.mel.media