"There is a famous story about a father's last lesson for his five sons who are always quarreling. On his deathbed gathered by his sons, he gives them each one stick and asks them to break it. They each quickly break their stick. The he ties 10 sticks together and asks them to break the sticks. They find them impossible to break. That is the power of a group, of a community.

So like this power of community, world organizations must also form a community. This will give them all power of numbers, power of sharing, power of giving strength to each other and also the power of shaping policies. Individual organizations may be inadequate, they may be a lone voice, but if organizations come together then their voice will be heard, their points of view will be [taken]  more seriously."
Dr. Abhay Bang, MD, MPH; Founder & Director of SEARCH

"Most health takes place in the home. It is the mothers, fathers, the people who are caring for each other in their families that have to make those critical decisions, take those necessary first actions in order to improve their childrens' and families' health. We would like to empower those people to be able to care for themselves and make the best decisions for their families. CORE Group has over 56 member organizations, each organization working in anywhere from 1 to 180 countries, reaching as many as 720 million children- that is 10% of the world's population."
Karen LeBan, Executive Director, CORE Group

"The wonderful thing about CORE is that we are able to come together and be strong advocates for maternal and child health. It is  a wonderful opportunity for professional development. I learned new tools, found resources, and met people who are excellent in their field and who continue to develop and train others."
Marilyn Patton, Child Survival Advisor, HOPE Worldwide

"At a time when development efforts are fragmented and sometimes even competitive with each other, the CORE Group provides unifying coordination and inspires collaboration to achieve shared goals."
Elaine Murphy, Visiting Scholar at the Population Reference Bureau

"The thing that impresses me about CORE Group is that it is a safe place where health professionals from organizations working all over the world can come together and share information and knowledge. The knowledge and skills that members gain from CORE are invaluable."
Houkje Ross, Communications Consultant

"CORE is like a catalyst for making things happen. They have a way of bringing the best people together to talk about what they do, make it work, inform each other, and then move through a step-by-step process."
Willow Gerber, Consultant

"Being an organization with so many members, CORE is able to get new ideas out to a lot of people very quickly. People come together to create tools, methods, and curricula that we normally would not come together to form otherwise."
Tom Davis, Director of Health Programs, Food for the Hungry International (FHI)

"When you are a member of CORE you do not have to wait until something is produced or published. Instead, you are interactng with people as they are conceptualizing, drafting, and developing these materials. You can talk about them, learn from them rather than waiting 5 or 10 years before they are published and available on websites."
Todd Nitkin, M&E Specialist, Medical Teams International

"The whole is greater than some of the parts. With CORE, you have a way of accessing so many different organizations working in so many different countries with so many different beneficiary populations. There is a lot of synergy."
Janine Schooley, VP for Tech Services and Program Development, Project Concern International

"If I were a foundation I would fund CORE because there really is a direct effect on the people that you are working with in the field."
Bill Yaggey, Director of Programs, African Medical & Research Foundation (AMREF)

" I think the heart and soul of CORE are the different working groups that develop very specific and practical tools that are used worldwide."
Diana DuBois, Executive Director, WellShare International

"If the CORE network wasn't there, something would be lost because what I have found is that the grestest asset are the other CORE members that bring this cast level of knowledge and experience together. It is a group of technical people working together and sharing experiences and learning from each other. I don't know any other venue that quite compares."
Kayt Erdahl, Technical Officer, TB Team, PATH

"CORE Group is an amazing place where passionate people come together to make every development dollar go further. CORE Group members work hard to figure out how to create deep-rooted sustainable change that will last long after the project is gone. Collectively, our members reach 720 million people a year, that's 1/10 of the world's population in over 180 countries.
Ann Hendrix, Director of Partnership, CORE Group

"The Spring Meeting is a wonderful forum for collegial discussion of practical experiences and technical updates."
Kristina Gryboski, USAID Bureau for Global Health

What I value about being a CORE Group member...

" access to current up-to-date information on maternal and child health and community-based primary health care, opportunities to learn from other organizations about their current programs, inspiration and fellowship."
Henry Perry, Johns Hopkins University/ Future Generations

"I value the peer-to-peer, best practices-sharing so that Project CURE can become a more effective organization. I also enjoy the collaborative spirit that exists. It's very welcoming."
Joe Miklosi, Project CURE

"Exposure and access to a wealth of ideas and action being done by colleagues. CORE Group allows for an environment where inspiration and resources can come together and impact can be multiplied."
Monica Trigg, CARE USA