Late in July, my twenty-two year old nephew was informed he had a brain tumor twice the size of a golf ball, requiring immediate surgery. As Lotsa’s CEO, I found myself once again as a first-hand witness to how Lotsa Helping Hands can have a profound effect not only on the family caregivers and the patient, but also on the community of volunteers and supporters that rally behind them.
by Paula Spencer Scott, senior editor at Caring.com
Seeing a friend or relative in need taps a wonderful human impulse in most of us: to give help. The quandary is that we’re often not exactly sure how to do that. What kind of help is needed? How can you find out? What’s the best way to offer meaningful, real help without being pushy, nosy, or otherwise off-key? Try these suggestions:
Here at Lotsa Helping Hands, we often hear from our very own members. This guest blog post comes from Karen, who writes about finding the right recipe to meet a family’s needs.
I recently received an email from a parent of another child in my daughter’s third grade class. Another mom—someone new to town, who I don’t yet know well—was scheduled for reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy. She’d be in the hospital for five days, followed by least another five days of strict bed rest, and probably many more days where she wouldn’t have the energy to cook for her family. One way our community was coming to her family’s aid was by organizing meal deliveries. Of course I wanted to help out.
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 reflections from our Team. This one comes from David Jarsky, our Senior Engineer.
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!
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.
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.
Contributed by Hal Chapel, CEO and Co-Founder of Lotsa Helping Hands
As family and friends of the victims of the Aurora tragedy began their unbearable journey dealing with the impossible suddenly becoming reality, the rest of the country looked on with horror, sadness, and anger. We were all unexpectedly united, simply as human beings distraught, appalled, and without answers to so many questions such shock evokes. Many of us wanted desperately to do something, anything, to help those immediately affected by this terror, to let them know they were not alone. But of course, what could we really do?
Contributed by Barry Katz, Co-Found of Lotsa Helping Hands
At Lotsa Helping Hands, we’ve been super busy with the launch of our new Open Community Model. Open Communities are designed to help more than one family, especially when members of the Community may not always know all the people being helped in the community. Open Communities are searchable using the Lotsa Helping Hands location-based search form and allow for interested volunteers to lend a hand and neighbors in need to request help. Often schools, community groups and religious organizations use the Open Community Model.
Contributed by Greg Ralich, Lotsa Helping Hands Member Services Representative
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 reflections from our Team. This second one comes from Greg Ralich, Member Services Representative.