In 1996, Denise M. Brown launched Caregiving.com to help and support those who care for family members (parents, spouses, children, grandparents, siblings). In 1999, Denise formed a non-profit organization called The Center for Family Caregivers, which works to:
- Embrace family caregivers with support and comfort, like the National Caregiving Conference;
- Employ family caregivers on a part-time basis;
- Empower family caregivers in need by sending them $500 to solve a pressing problem.
The Center for Family Caregivers is a 501(c)(3) organization, which means donations are tax deductible. You can make a donation via the button, below. We appreciate whatever you can donate!
With your donation, we can:
1. Embrace Family Caregivers
Our National Caregiving Conference brings together those who currently care and those who previously cared. We feature presentations from family caregivers and former family caregivers. At this conference, we’re the experts.
We “Family Caregiver Awareness Days” so that family caregivers receive the recognition within their families and their communities that they deserve. Caregiving is a lonely, isolating experience. We want to ensure all family caregivers have a chance to be heard, understood, embraced. Through our Family Caregiver Awareness Days (Cook for a Caregiver, Job Jar Day, Grill for a Family Caregiver, Labor Day Break, Hire a Family Caregiver, Kiss a Caregiver, Wear Green), we bring awareness about the reality of the caregiving experience to the family, the workplace and the community.
2. Employ Family Caregivers
Because caregiving becomes a full-time job, many family caregivers must choose between their career and their caregiving responsibilities. Once they leave the workforce, though, they lose their security for their future. Americans who provide care for their aging parents lose an estimated three trillion dollars in wages, pension and Social Security benefits when they take time off to do so, according to “The MetLife Study of Caregiving Costs to Working Caregivers: Double Jeopardy for Baby Boomers Caring for Their Parents.”
We’d like to hire 10 family caregivers as part-time contractors to help our members, moderate our chats, oversee our groups, edit and create content for the website, and organize our volunteer programs.
3. Empower Family Caregivers
As often as we can we send $500 to a family caregiver in need through our CareGifters program. To date, we’ve sent $500 to 20 family caregivers to help them resolve a pressing caregiving problem. We helped Kristin buy food and shoes; we helped Janet pay for home care so her husband received the care he needed as she recovered from surgery. BreeAnna used the $500 to build a ramp so her mom has easy access into the house. We helped Teri take a trip with her terminally-ill husband to see their son. With the $500, L’Tanya hired a closet organizer so her mom could enjoy a clutter-free environment. And, Gwyn used the $500 to hire help to care for her mom while she worked.
In summary, we’ll use your contributions to The Center for Family Caregivers to:
- Hire 10 family caregivers on a part-time basis (paying each family caregiver $500 a month) to help as website community managers, help with marketing efforts, lead and start support groups in their communities, edit and create website content.
- Create awareness in a family caregiver’s community, workpace and family so that every family caregiver feels understood, heard and embraced.
- Send $500 to a family caregiver in need as often as can.
Our Impact
Recipients of our CareGifters program say:
- When I first heard about the CareGifters Program I could not believe such a program existed. At the time I applied I was 23-year-old caregiver trying to go back to school. I was hoping to use the money to pay part of my tuition. I was unable to receive financial aid and was not give the scholarships I applied for. At the time my mom’s Cobra Insurance ran out and in order to be covered we needed to pay out of pocket. I was able to use the money I received from the CareGifters program to help my dad pay for the insurance, which was a blessing. ~ Liliana, who cares for her mom.
- When I received my CareGift, I was living on so little that I literally had no food in the fridge and desperately needed a new pair of shoes. As a 24/7 caretaker, I did not have the opportunity to be away from the home long enough to get a part-time job. The CareGift allowed me to fill the fridge, get some shoes and pay a respite caregiver for a few hours once a week for several week so that I could get out of the house for a break, which I desperately needed in the middle of that long winter. Further, it was an emotional boost just to know that someone cared. ~ Kristin, who cared for a family friend
- Winning the Caregifters award was like a message from God when I believed that he was leading me to get a pharmacy technician degree. The money allowed me to enroll in an online, distance learning school. I will be getting my degree in May. I hope that this will in some way help me take better care of my chronically ill daughter. ~ Jane who cares for her daughter
- Even though I have been doing this caregiving thing for awhile now, since my mom became disabled in 2000, I wasn’t fully being a caregiver. That slowly changed as she got worse and needed more help. Her last big event changed things dramatically as she is now in a wheel chair, needs help standing up and the like. So we needed to build a ramp for her to get into the house. We needed lots of small different improvements around the house. We need medical supplies for her. And thankfully I found caregiving.com. And I received the wonderful gift of caregifters. I was about to build the ramp just in time. I was able to get the random supplies we needed. This is such a wonderful program and I am so grateful that I was able to receive this blessing. ~ BreeAnna, who cares for her mom
Members of Caregiving.com say:
- I thought there wasn’t a nook or cranny that I did not visit on the website. I just discovered your “Weekly Comforts.”They are wonderful!!! There are so many I have to go back and read now. The few I browsed through remind me of those little meditation books you get with a message for the day. With the one-word title, I can browse through and find just what I need for this precise moment in time.
- If not for you, this beautiful site and our members, I believe I would be terribly lost.
- It has been such a relief to find a place to let my hair down without worrying about being judged and found lacking in character.
- You make going thru the storm much better.
- I’m so happy to find this chat you can’t even imagine. Thank you so much for all the kind words. I will watch the schedule and join again as God knows I really need to talk to someone as I have no help,”
- I really enjoy your podcasts; they’re amazingly helpful.
- I have been a member for about two minutes. I am going to look around here. When I saw the page I instantly cried. I need this. I figured I would just jump in – no fear….I have enough of that going on. It is time to fight for my sanity. I think I found home.
- Denise Brown and Caregiving.com have changed my life. The support and encouragement I have received from Denise and the other members of the group has helped me cope with my role as a caregiver to my daughter.
“I feel a huge weight of responsibility that is almost crippling. What if I make the wrong decision, what if I miss spotting an important symptom, what if I mess up the medications, what if something happens to me… then who would care for my Mom? Lots of stress to go around. The back pain, the sleepless nights because my mom needs round-the-clock toileting, dealing with the dementia, dealing with the doctors, dealing with incompetent mistakes by medical professionals. And really, finances are the most stressful. I have had no income for almost a year. I have gone through the small savings I had. My caree and I exist on her Social Security income. I’m afraid of what will happen to me afterward. Afraid I’ll be too burned out and grieving to find a decent job. I worry a lot about finances. It’s really hard.” – A respondent to our 2013 Annual Family Caregiver Survey
Other Ways You Can Help
We love when you can contribute, but understand budget constraints. You can still help:
- Tell your family members, friends and colleagues about our work.
- It’s easy to share about our work on social media; just use the share tools.
You can make a tax-deductible donation to The Center for Family Caregivers, below. We appreciate whatever amount you can donate!