Here at Lotsa Helping Hands, we often find ourselves talking about the word community. It has many meanings these days – from an online community of people who share similar interests and hobbies to a close group of friends and neighbors who share parts of their lives with each other. For us, community is about giving and receiving…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. Periodically, I’d like to introduce you to a member of our team so that you can get to know them better by reading about why they are part of our community at Lotsa Helping Hands.

Meet Barry Katz, one of our co-founders. Barry’s story is one that is with us every day in our work but this time of year, especially. September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month – a month that gets a lot of attention around here.

Read Barry’s story here.

Read on for tips and features about our coordination service, updates about our Getting Started Webinar Series, and caregiving resources from our sponsors.

Wishing you and your community all the best this month.

     From our community to yours,

          Hal Chapel, Co-Founder & CEO



LOTSA TIPS AND FEATURES

We have several tips to share this month – remember, you can always visit our How it Works Page for ideas on how to get the most out of your caregiving or volunteer coordination community.

1. Invite members to join your community: If you are a caregiver, chances are you get a lot of offers of help. Coordinators can add the names and email addresses of folks who have expressed interest to their communities and start organizing help fast. Invite these people to join your private community in the People tab and add a personal message to our simple invitation template to announce your community. Members of communities can share their community or the Lotsa Helping Hands service using the Tell a Friend link found on every page of their community.
   
   
2. Change your community name: Perhaps you’ve decided that you want to change the name of your community after you created it. Coordinators can click on the Administration tab, then click on the Site options link on the next page. Simply enter the new name of your community in the space provided for Site name. (Remember to scroll to the bottom and click Save Changes!)
   
   
3. Make your Home Page your own: Changing your Homepage Highlight is a great way to give your Members quick access to what matters most in your community. Your community's coordination calendar is highlighted by default, but Coordinators have the option to showcase any Community Section on the home page. To make this change, simply go to the Site Options link found in the Administration tab. Here you'll find a drop-down menu for updating the Homepage Highlight. Showcase new pictures in your Photo Gallery, choose to display Well-Wishes from your Members, or feature a custom section you created.