Dr. Barry Byer founded CrossLink in 1993 and the organization became a 501(c)(3) in early 1997. CrossLink grew into an ecumenical humanitarian non-profit organization which has annually supplied medicines, medical equipment and supplies to approximately 350 mission teams and mission hospitals worldwide and in the United States. CrossLink shipped three to twelve containers every year.
In addition, CrossLink supplied disaster relief after hurricanes and other natural disasters, provided medications for 12 regional free clinics and was one of four organizations that in 2011 established the Culmore Clinic, a free clinic in northern Virginia.
Dr. Byer was personally drawn to the mission field after Hurricane Mitch devastated areas of Central America in 1998. Later that year, he founded the Virginia Hospital Center Medical Brigade. For the past 14 years, this organization has sent teams numbering from five to 85 healthcare professionals and support personnel making nine to twelve trips a year to Honduras providing high-impact medical missions and sustainable healthcare models to the underserved. CrossLink ably supplied all of these trips to Honduras, sending only what was needed and useful to the mission field.
After almost twenty years of experience, CrossLink closed its doors on September 30, 2012 due to a lack of funds. In the following month, BBF President Luke Hingson heard that CrossLink had closed and arranged to visit with Dr. Byer. The two organizations have a very similar medical mission and BBF already had been considering expansion.
BBF is proud to announce that a new BBF location is opening in northern Virginia and three of the former employees of CrossLink are new BBF staff members. Dr. Byer is a newly elected BBF Trustee and will be helping with BBF’s new efforts in Virginia and around the world.
