ROANOKE, Va. – You know, better teams, better operations, better product, happier customers.
Kelly Woolwine makes it sound simple. In fact his model is diagramed on the wall of his office at Evolution HR, the business he founded, bringing Human Resources needs to the market.
“There’s a tremendous demand out there for labor, and so to be in a business that’s finding labor, you know, helping match labor, it’s good time to do that,” Woolwine said.
Business he says, is booming. 2024 looks to be double 2023.
But it’s only part of what he does. When his daughter was struck with cancer – it changed his life.
“It was a freight train out of the blue and you know, for me, it was died and went to hell was the worst thing that ever happened to me,” he said.
Charlotte, three at the time - was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma.
“He was thinking maybe appendicitis, so we go get the ultrasound. And never left the hospital. We were admitted immediately, as soon as they saw her liver, it was four times the normal size,” Woolwine said. “Charlotte was stage four. It was metastatic to both lungs, and the messaging we were getting was probably not going to end very well,” he shared.
They spent the better part of two years at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Charlotte today is a thriving youngster.
“She’s got dance. Straight A’s. It’s a miracle, you know. But that I would say, you know, when something like that happens,” a teary Woolwine said.
Kelly put his business sense to work fighting childhood cancer, starting the Life Ring Foundation with his wife Jessica.
Centered on the annual golf tournament, the organization –partnered with Carilion, raised more than three million dollars in 18 months. Money to fight the disease in Southwest Virginia, where help in this field is is badly needed.
“It’s not Roanoke. There’s no bad guy. It’s just the resources aren’t there, because adults outnumber kids five to one, and everything kind of goes along with that, the money, the research, the tools. So we want to partner with Carilion and help them bolster resources there,” he said.
But Woolwine’s influence goes even further. A longtime Virginia Tech supporter, the University partners with him to help raise NIL money in support of Virginia Tech athletes, like star women’s basketball player Elizabeth Kitley.
“And the beauty of it was it’s name, image and likeness. You pay the athletes to promote something. Can’t plan pay them to play sports,” he explained.
But you can pay them to promote something. So why not the Life Ring Foundation.
“So the irony was, we could find the money the donors were willing to support the athletes, but they have to promote something. And so here we are gearing up to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer,” Woolwine said.
Kelly Woolwine’s talents -- Human resources, childhood cancer, and college athletics – all under one entrepreneurial umbrella.