Welcome to Lotsa Community Works

Featured this month:

• Lotsa News – New Partner Site
• Raise Money for your Community
• Pass Along Helpful Ideas for Caregivers
• Promise to #HelpACaregiver

With 2014 coming to a close, we are again reminded of the blessings we may have in life. Here at Lotsa we are so fortunate to hear about the many stories of hope and goodness in your helping Communities. As a Coordinator of a Lotsa Community, you probably don't need this time of year for motivation to give back or help a friend in need. In fact, we know that you have given of your time and talents to your Lotsa Community since it started. So, during this holiday season we want to thank you for creating and managing your Lotsa Community, for gathering like minded volunteers to help, and for truly making a positive impact on your loved ones and your Community. Because you are a leader in your Community, we want to share additional resources for you as well as a list of new tips and ideas for you to share with the caregiver(s) in your life.

May health, happiness and peace be yours this holiday season. 

Hal Chapel, CEO

Connect With Us

LOTSA NEWS 

New Partner Site: Celebrate Caregiving
Our partner that created National Family Caregivers Month, Caregiver Action Network, has launched a new website www.celebratecaregiving.com. Visit their site today to find resources concerning caregiving & healthcare, education & advocacy, senior safety and more.  

LOTSA TIPS

Raise Money for your Community
We are excited to share that Lotsa communities have raised significant funds to support the communities we serve through our partner, GiveForward. GiveForward provides an easy way to raise money online — whether raising money for medical bills, gas to and from treatment, or to offset household bills during caregiving, GiveForward offers personal fundraising pages to help with those financial stresses. Here is what you can do to add GiveForward to your Community. 

1. Visit GiveForward — Visit www.giveforward.com/lotsa and click the Create a Fundraiser button. You will need to create your own account with GiveForward. Fill out the form to create your fundraiser. Once your fundraiser is complete, make note of the shortened URL (address) on the GiveForward Dashboard. You will need to have that when adding the fundraiser to your Lotsa Community.

2. Add your Fundraiser to your Lotsa Community — To add your fundraiser to your community, click ‘Add a Section’ in the upper right corner of your screen. Select ‘Button’ in the list of options and click ‘Continue’. Next you can add a title that will be visible in the Navigation Bar of your community, for example "Funds for Smith Family," then enter the unique URL (address) of your GiveForward Fundraiser. Lastly, click 'Save Changes'. For a more detailed description of how to create a fundraiser, view our tip sheet PDF. If you have additional questions, contact us at info@lotsahelpinghands.com.

Pass Along Helpful Ideas for Caregivers 
The holidays can be tough for caregivers, in particular. We’ve assembled some helpful tips for getting through them. You can review our Blog to get ideas for Starting the Conversation about Caregiving with your older adult parent or check out our Five Tips for Relieving Stress During the Holidays. Have a topic of interest? Let us know so we can help.

Promise to #HelpACaregiver
We invite our 50 nonprofit partners, new supportive organizations, caregiver supporters, and our members far and wide to take the time to make a promise to #HelpACaregiver and share it with their networks. Promises may include providing meals, delivering medications, organizing rides to appointments, and any other tasks that will #HelpACaregiver. Post your promise on our Facebook Page and we will enter your name in a raffle for an Amazon gift card.