Find Help for Caregivers – Do you know Lotsa People?
Now that Lotsa Helping Hands has surpassed the one-millionth user mark, it seems that Lotsa members are everywhere. That means it’s becoming easier to find help for caregivers!
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Sandwich Generation Juggling Act – the 3 Cs (Children, Career, Caregiving)
By: Sherri Snelling
Photo: Flynt/ Dreamstime
This Wednesday at 2pm EST I will be speaking during Lotsa’s Sandwich Generation Juggling Act webinar, a special session devoted to the 24 million Americans who are literally sandwiched between caring for two generations. Representing approximately 38 percent of all caregivers, Sandwich Generation members are still parenting children living at home while they also care for older parents who now need more help.
Because Sandwich Generation caregivers tend to be in their 40s, 50s and even 60s, seven out of 10 are also juggling a career along with child rearing and caregiving. With so many balls in the air, the Sandwich Generation caregivers often feel overwhelmed, burned out and stressed to their limits. These caregivers are caught in a three-ring circus of children, career and caregiving, and they are the star juggling act. At some point, the ball that gets dropped is the one that says self-care.
Employee Rights: Honoring Caregiving Employees this Labor Day
Whether you were enjoying the last weekend of summer, or getting ready for school to start, we hope you had a relaxing long Labor Day weekend. Though Labor Day is most often associated with the beginning of the new school year, we got to thinking about what Labor Day is really about.
Created in 1882, Labor Day is a yearly tribute to the contributions that workers have made to our country. At Lotsa Helping Hands, we hear from so many of our members who are balancing their careers and work life, with caring for a loved one or volunteering in their Community. It’s a lot to balance!
Helping Others: Stories of Volunteering in Washington State
Here at Lotsa Helping Hands, we often find ourselves talking about the word community. Our vision is a world where everyone can give and receive help through the power of community. For us, community means so much. It’s about sharing one another’s life experiences. We too have our own community of dedicated people who spend much of their time designing and developing the best service possible, and ensuring that our free service gets into the hands of those who need it. On our Blog, we will be sharing helping others stories from our Team. This one comes from Courtney Allen, our Marketing Specialist.
September: The New Beginning for Helping Our Community
As the days of summer draw to a close, adults and children alike begin to feel the anticipation of September’s arrival. September has always been a time of transition and change. For most, it is the actual ‘start of a new year’. We all remember those feelings of anticipation wondering, who will be in my new class; nervousness about what will 6th grade be like; apprehension as I can’t believe I’m going to middle school; excitement about meeting up with old friends at church/synagogue; and the joy of picking out clothes after a summer of growth spurts.
It Takes a Community to Provide Help for Caregivers
At some point in our lives, most people become caregivers. Some will care for an elderly parent, others a sick child or a friend. They will give their time and their care for days, months or years. And while they help their loved one, they will continue to work, raise their family, do laundry, pay bills, cook dinner, help with homework, mow the lawn, and maintain friendships. They will need a break – a few moments to catch their breath. They will need a way to organize, coordinate and keep their loved ones informed. Eventually, they will need to ask for help and have a way to manage that help. Help for caregivers is not always easy to ask for, but is completely necessary.
Helping Others: Stories of When My Daughter Needed Helping Hands
Here at Lotsa Helping Hands, we often find ourselves talking about the word community. Our vision is a world where everyone can give and receive help through the power of community. For us, community means so much. It’s about sharing one another’s life experiences. We too have our own community of dedicated people who spend much of their time designing and developing the best service possible, and ensuring that our free service gets into the hands of those who need it. On our Blog, we will be sharing helping others stories from our Team. This one comes from Paul Burney, our Chief Technology Officer.
For Our Loved Ones: How to Support Someone With Cancer
Have you ever needed to know how to support someone with cancer? Have you delivered a meal to a mother with breast cancer juggling care for her children or offered to drive a friend to a chemotherapy session? Chances are, if you have helped a person with cancer you have experienced the profound emotions that come with helping, from great joy and relief that, indeed, there is something that you can actually do to make a difference — to sadness for what your loved one is experiencing.
The Caregiving Version of the Olympics
Contributed by Sherri Snelling
When it comes to caregiving, staying fit so that you have the energy to care for your loved one is like training for an Olympic marathon not a sprint. Even though your caregiving race may begin with a crisis event, very often it lasts far longer than you may anticipate – not days but weeks, months, years. According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, caregivers spend on average 4.6 years caring for a loved one with 15 percent spending more than 10 years. A world-class runner who can finish the 100-yard dash in 9.1 seconds cannot keep up that pace for 26 miles – it is simply impossible.
10 Tips for Getting Started with Open Communities at Lotsa
We’ve been talking a lot about our new Open Communities at Lotsa. These are Communities that are created in local towns or neighborhoods, providing a place for people who need help to ask for it and for volunteers to lend a hand. If you want to get started but need some help, we’ve got 10 tips to get your Lotsa Community up and running.