In 2006, Dr. Lenny Peters founded a charitable organization with a simple but powerful motto, “A Helping Hand Here at Home and Around the World.” Twenty years later, that mission has become a living record of thousands of lives changed, in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, in orphanages across India, in care centers in Africa and in Colombia.
The Lenny Peters Foundation celebrates 20 years of service in 2026. It is a milestone worth pausing on, and reflecting on what two decades of purposeful giving have meant in practice. More importantly, it is an opportunity to look ahead at how the Foundation will continue to make a difference.
From One Man’s Calling to a Global Mission
The story of the Lenny Peters Foundation is, in many ways, the story of Dr. Peters himself.
Dr. Lenny Peters is an award-winning physician, entrepreneur, and founder of Bethany Medical, North Carolina’s largest minority-owned independent medical group, with 550 employees providing primary care to more than 1,100 patients daily. He also leads Peters Medical Research, where he guides clinical studies to improve patient outcomes, and Peters Development LLC, a High Point-based real estate development and investment firm. Through sustained investment in clinical and pharmaceutical research, he has worked to position High Point as a biopharmaceutical hub.
But none of that is what drives him most.
“When I think about the Lenny Peters Foundation, I think about the millions of people who need help. People who have not been as blessed as many of us,” said Dr. Peters. “I want to be one of the thousand points of light.”
Dr. Peters launched the Foundation in 2006 out of a deep, personal conviction. He believed that talent, success, and wealth are not possessions to be kept but rather resources to be stewarded and shared.
“We are all custodians of a certain amount of talent and wealth for a period of time. Our obligation is to share that,” he said.
Dr. Peters has authored two books that reflect this philosophy. Barefoot to Benefactor chronicles his journey from humble beginnings in India to professional success in the United States. It’s a story of faith, resilience, and transformation. Peters’ Principles for Success shares the leadership lessons he’s gathered across healthcare, real estate, medical research, and philanthropy. All proceeds from both books go directly to orphanages and cancer centers.
A Hand Up, Not a Handout — The Philosophy Behind the Foundation
From its earliest days, the Lenny Peters Foundation has been guided by a distinction that shapes everything it does: the difference between a hand up and a hand out.
“We look for people who may be in a situation where they need a little bit of help, and once they get that help, they will be back on their feet,” shared Elise Peters-Carey, Director of the Lenny Peters Foundation.
That philosophy has two expressions. The first is support for individuals in the Triad region of North Carolina who are facing financial hardship. People who may not be connected to a church, long-term service organization, or other safety net, but need assistance to get through a crisis and regain stability. The second is strategic partnerships with nonprofits and community organizations whose values and missions align with the Foundation’s own.
“We don’t want to just write a check and attend the event,” added Peters-Carey. “We look for organizations that can be partners on values, on missions and that we can look to have some involvement with.”
The Foundation’s commitment to genuine partnership rather than transactional giving has enabled it to extend its reach far beyond what a single organization could accomplish alone. In the Triad, the Lenny Peters Foundation has supported organizations including Open Door Ministries, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC, Salvation Army and many others.
One of the Foundation’s most often-told stories is that of Ray Wah, a refugee who arrived in High Point with his family after fleeing a refugee camp in Myanmar. With support from the Lenny Peters Foundation, Ray was able to purchase a vehicle, transport his family and secure employment. He now works at Bethany Medical. It is exactly the kind of outcome the Foundation exists to make possible.
Around the World: 14 Homes Across Three Continents
What makes the Lenny Peters Foundation’s story particularly remarkable at the 20-year mark is the breadth of its international footprint.
The Foundation independently supports and operates homes around the world, serving orphaned children, the elderly, the sick and dying, cancer patients and the poor. Some of these homes, operated by Christian nuns of various orders, also serve as prayer centers where sisters deliver intercessory prayers on behalf of those who request them.
Across 14 homes on three continents, the Foundation’s global reach includes:
- India — Orphanages and care homes serving children, the elderly, the sick, and those who are terminally ill, including cancer patients. Foundation team members travel to India to deliver direct, personal support — including cash gifts — to those in need. More than 200 orphans currently receive assistance through these programs.
- Africa — Orphanages and prayer centers extending the Foundation’s mission to communities on the African continent.
- Colombia — A home that extends humanitarian care to South America.
Don Bulla, Vice President of the Lenny Peters Foundation, describes the long-term vision behind the children’s homes, “When the young boys and girls come out of the orphanages after age 18, they have learned a skill set or have been educated in some kind of trade so that they can be employed.”
The goal isn’t just to care for children in the present. It’s to prepare them for independent, self-sufficient futures.
Faith, Family, and 20 Years of Sustainable Good
At the center of the Lenny Peters Foundation is a family, and at the center of the family is faith.
As Nicole Peters, Director of Lenny Peters Foundation, shares, “When I think of the Lenny Peters Foundation, I think about sustainable good. I think it’s my dad’s belief in Christ — religion, really — that drives him to give back to the community.”
That faith is reflected not only in the Foundation’s giving, but in the way it gives. Personally, directly, and with genuine care for the dignity of every recipient. Dr. Peters himself has noted that the Foundation’s ability to touch lives goes beyond financial help. “I am able to touch the lives of many people that would not have an opportunity to receive not only financial help but the feeling that someone cares,” he shared.
What 20 Years Looks Like
The Lenny Peters Foundation’s 20th anniversary isn’t marked by a single event or a ceremonial milestone. It’s marked by the accumulation of thousands of quiet acts of care. A vehicle purchased for a refugee family, a child in India educated and ready for the workforce, a family in Greensboro that made it through a financial crisis, a cancer patient in Africa who received comfort and dignity in their final days – all through the Foundation’s acts. Two decades in, the Foundation’s priorities remain exactly what they were at the beginning.
“Each of us is given a certain amount of talents and blessings,” Dr. Peters said. “And based on the degree of talents we are given, we have to proportionately give back.”
Twenty years. Fourteen homes. Three continents. One motto.
A helping hand here at home and around the world.