Last week, I shared about a loss that had happened in our family. When it happened, I knew I wanted to help. I think that’s an impulse most of us feel when people we love are in pain. We want to do something to be of service. So I immediately offered to help organize a fundraiser for my nephew and his wife, who had experienced a terrible loss, but who were also struggling to pay for the medical bills that preceded losing their son.
I quickly started to do some research on the best platform to use to help organize care for them. I was really happy to find Give InKind . Their platform is specifically created for offering care to people when there has been an illness or loss. It is highly customizable and offers a number of ways for family, friends, and even strangers to help out. There is a section where you can give updates, and keep people posted to what is going on. I know that when I have been going through intense struggles, a centralized place to give updates was really helpful, both for me and for the people who were concerned about me. I liked this aspect of Give InKind.
I also loved that it offers a variety of ways to crowdfund, as well as the ability to set up care like meals and housekeeping. You can even allow people to sign up to give rides or care for pets. I was able to set up a schedule for people to bring meals to Dereck and Jacie. It allowed people to sign up to bring a homemade meal, or to choose an option to send a meal through GrubHub, or simply a gift card to any number of meal delivery services. It also offered a place to give info on what kind of meals the family likes (super helpful when there are kids involved who tend to be picky eaters!)
They also offer the ability to send a number of gifts that are appropriate for times of crisis and loss. I especially liked the fact that giving a gift certificate to an online therapy site was an option. They also have an option for gift cards for groceries, care packages, and self-care experiences.
If you are trying to help offset medical costs, as I was doing for my nephew, you can link to a GoFundMe, or allow people to give directly through Paypal.
I found Give InKind to be the most thoughtful platform, and I really appreciate that it is free. A lot of intention has gone into making it a place to offer respectful and targeted support. Life throws a lot of curveballs, and I know in times of medical need I have been literally carried by the support of my friends. I love that Give InKind is making the organizing easy so that friends and family can focus on support.
You can see the page I set up for Derek and Jacie here. And you can learn more about Give InKind here.
