There are many ways to celebrate family caregivers and to take action and communicate the important messages of NFC Month. The following are ideas and guides to help you create a successful National Family Caregivers Month in your community:
- Offer a few hours of respite time to a family caregiver so they spend time with friends, or simply relax.
- Send a card of appreciation or a bouquet of flowers to brighten up a family caregiver's day.
- Encourage local businesses to offer a free service for family caregivers through the month of November.
- Participate in the National Family Caregivers Association's FREE national teleclass to learn how to communicate more effectively with health care professionals. The 2 free one hour sessions will be November 6th and 13th at 2 pm ET. For more information visit www.thefamilycaregiver.org.
- Help a family caregiver decorate their home for the holidays or offer to address envelopes for their holiday cards.
- Offer comic relief! Purchase tickets to a local comedy club, give a family caregiver your favorite funny movie to view, or provide them with a book on tape.
- Find 12 different family photos and have a copy center create a monthly calendar that the family caregiver can use to keep track of appointments and events.
- Offer to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for a caregiving family in your community, so they can just relax and enjoy the holiday.
- Take a few minutes to write a letter encouraging your mayor, county, executive, or governor to issue a local proclamation establishing November as National Family Caregivers Month. Contact informational for state government officials can be found at www.firstgov.gov.
- Help a family caregiver find information and resources on the internet or to locate a local support group.
