Dear Friend,

WELCOME TO LOTSA COMMUNITY WORKS
It’s that time of year again – the lemonade stands are on the corner, the summer camps are gearing up in the local community center, and for those lucky enough that anticipated vacation can never come soon enough. For members of churches, synagogues and other religious groups, the summer season is also the time of year for their communities to come together to plan activities, raise funds and enjoy the warm weather while it lasts. Helen, a member of a Lotsa Helping Hands community, recently submitted her experience to our Story Project. Her first encounter with Lotsa Helping Hands was as a recipient – following months of recovery from hip replacement surgery. Helen’s friends and family came together to run errands, deliver meals and take her to various appointments. She was so touched by the outpouring of help that she introduced the service to her local church – with more than 1,200 congregants. They are now using Lotsa Helping Hands to organize their outreach efforts to families in need. For centuries, a hallmark of religious organizations has been their tireless effort to provide help to members of their local communities. Now, there is an easy way for these organizations to coordinate this assistance: our free, web-based service has been the platform for the creation of over 1,000 religious communities coordinating offers of help to those in need. Most groups publish the web site address in their service bulletin, encouraging member volunteers to sign up for posted needs, as well as to send well wishes to families, view the community calendar, or simply discover the resources and links to community-specific websites and other nonprofit organizations.

If you’re looking to assist members struggling with a medical crisis, or to coordinate volunteers for community service outreach programs, or your organization needs to manage member volunteers for events, then you can benefit from creating a community of support at Lotsa Helping Hands.

We appreciate hearing testimonials such as Helen’s, and are always excited to hear how Lotsa Helping Hands has impacted the lives of many, whether receiving help, or discovering the profound gift of offering help. If you have a story to tell, let us know at storyproject@lotsahelpinghands.com

     From our community to yours,

          Hal Chapel, Co-Founder & CEO



LOTSA TIPS AND FEATURES

We have several tips to share this month.

1. Community Member Transfer - If you are in a community that has helped one person and want to use the same group of volunteers to help another person, we can easily transfer the member information from one community into another. Simply contact our Member Support and we can help – be sure to include information about the community you wish to transfer from and the community you wish to transfer to.

2. Lotsa Resources for You: Don’t forget to regularly check out the community section in your community labeled Lotsa Resources for You. This month we are featuring do’s and don’ts about finding nursing home care, as well as resources on managing long-term care. Tell us what you would like to see in this section so we can keep it most relevant for you.

3. Have lotsa volunteer members? If you have a large number of members that you wish to add to a community, send a request to Member Support with an Microsoft Excel or CSV formatted document so that we can import the members into your community for you.

4. Join our conversation: Our online community continues to grow. Join our conversation by visiting us on Facebook — “Like Us”, post a comment or share a testimonial about your experience. Follow us on Twitter and keep up-to-date with the latest tips and features about our service.

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



CREATE A COMMUNITY
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. Get Started.