Dear Friend,

WELCOME TO LOTSA COMMUNITY WORKS
Do you know a wounded warrior who has come home or a deployed military family? Now more than ever, it is important to show support to our nation’s military and veterans’ families.

Over the last several years, all of us here at Lotsa Helping Hands have been moved by the stories we hear about the challenges facing our nation’s military and veterans’ families. Lotsa Helping Hands receives daily emails from people like you, wondering what they can do to support wounded warriors and their families – wanting so much to lend a helping hand. Friends and loved ones of the caregiver can easily create a community at Lotsa Helping Hands and begin to offer respite to the military family, which is why we are dedicating this month’s newsletter to those who have served or continue to serve our country. Our partner, Wounded Warrior Project, provides our service, called “My Care Crew” specifically for our nation’s wounded warriors and their families, with helpful content and information.

Studies confirm that caregivers of veterans bear a heavier burden when compared to caregivers broadly, providing care to loved ones for a longer period of time, and reporting a higher level of stress and physical strain.

If you know a deployed military family or a caregiver caring for a wounded warrior, what can you do to help? Create a community of support at Lotsa Helping Hands.

Friends, neighbors and loved ones of the caregiver can easily create a community at Lotsa Helping Hands and begin to offer help to the military family. Whether it is in preparation for deployment or the anticipation of their arrival home, the empowerment from a community is both beautiful and irreplaceable. Be sure to check out stories of community support on our web site. I am sure they will inspire you as much as they do us!

On behalf of the entire team here at Lotsa Helping Hands, thank you to our nation’s military families and their caregivers for your service to our country.

     From our community to yours,

          Hal Chapel, Co-Founder & CEO



LOTSA TIPS AND FEATURES

We have several tips to share this month.

1. Lotsa Resources for You: From your private community web site, visit Lotsa Resources for You. Here, you will find resources from our team as well as information from our partner organizations. Please let us know what additional resources you would like to see in this section.

2. How Announcements are displayed: The default community home page will display the most recent Announcement sent out to the members. Many communities, however, prefer a ‘static’ message, which does not change each time a new Announcement is created. To choose this option, Coordinators can click on the Administration tab, and choose the Site options link. Next to the Homepage announcement is a drop-down menu where you can choose a specific message to display instead of the most recent Announcement.

3. Displaying a Section other than the Calendar on the Home Page: Every community is created with a two month calendar summary displayed on the Home Page. Some communities may not use the Calendar; others may prefer to display some other Community Section on the Home Page. To change the Section displayed to all community members, Coordinators can click on the Administration tab, choose Site options, then click on the drop-down menu next to Homepage highlight. You may choose to display Well Wishes, Photo Gallery, or any other Community Section on the Home Page, including any Custom Sections you may have created previously. (Remember to click Save Changes.)

If you have additional questions, contact us at info@lotsahelpinghands.com



CREATE A COMMUNITY — IT’S FREE!
Free, private, web-based communities for organizing friends, family, and colleagues – your 'circles of community' – during times of need. Coordinate activities and manage volunteers with our intuitive group calendar. Easily communicate and share updates using announcements, message boards, and photos. Safely store vital information. Getting started is easy. Click here.