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"Good company on a journey makes the way seem shorter"
-Izaak Walton | |
| What Friends GIVE |
Help with dinner even if you're far away--send a restaurant gift card! |
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Previous
Newsletters
Issues of previous WhatFriendsDo.com newsletters are available online. |
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Do you like WhatFriendsDo.com? Then be sure to tell your friends about it! Use this button to send to your friends now so they can learn more about WhatFriendsDo.com today!
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Greetings!
WhatFriendsDo.com newsletters are designed to help you be a better friend in those difficult or awkward times. Whether you are a casual acquaintance, co-worker, classmate, or best friend of someone going through a challenge, your friendship will grow with every act of kindness and help. Making the journey easier is what friends do. |
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Would you do it for me?
It seems that as soon as we hear of a crisis, illness, birth, surgery, death, we instinctively start to plan meals. Food gives comfort, and nourishment - and people seem receptive to accepting meals. Accepting other help is often more difficult. People don't want to feel inept, vulnerable or needy. And they don't want to feel obligated. For friends ready to help, these things may seem absurd - because their perspective is nothing like that. But turn the tables. If you would suddenly find yourself in a crisis, having friends offer help might feel awkward.
So it is helpful to ask a friend-in-need to look at help from the perspective of the giver. Ask your friend: Would you do it for me? Would you drive my children to soccer practice? Would you mow my lawn? Would you go to the grocery for me? Would you pick my parents up at the airport? Would you wash my dishes? And the answer will always be "Of course I would."
To keep your friend from feeling smothered by some people and neglected by others, a WhatFriendsDo.com team site is a very helpful tool. The "Help Schedule" allows for many people to join together to provide incredible support. Start a team for your friend today .. it's what friends do. |
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Special Days
The WhatFriendsDo.com concept of "celebrating" special days all year long allows friends to stay in touch from near and far, during happy times and difficult times.
March 10 - Music for the Heart Day - Music can be relaxing, inspiring, energizing. Share some music with your friend today.
March 12 - Plant a Flower Day - Fill flower pots and flowerbeds with pansies today - they thrive in the cold weather and they'll bring lots of smiles to your friend's face!
 March 14 - Learn about Butterflies Day - Butterflies represent transformation, and WhatFriendsDo.com was designed to help people through life transforming events. Learn what you can about your friend's illness, or learn more about grief or depression. And then do what you can to be a figurative butterfly in your friend's life!
March 18 - Penny for Your Thoughts Day- Today, be all ears. If your friend is mourning a loved one, facing tough medical decisions, or preparing for surgery, offer 'a penny for your thoughts' and be a good listener.
March 21 - Fragrance Day- Treat your friend to a scented candle that will provide a lovely fragrance as well as a calming effect.
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Creating Connections
I first became aware of WhatFriendsDo.com as the result of a brief paragraph in a local newspaper. At the time, I thought, "What a great idea - maybe that web site will come in handy some day." I stuck the little piece of paper in a file and promptly forgot about it. Unfortunately - or fortunately - only a few months later I became the designated team coordinator for a close friend facing major surgery. And, sure enough, that little piece of paper came to the rescue.
Having helped develop web sites for two educational institutions, I know the work, amount of detail, and expense that's involved. So, when I visited WhatFriendsDo the first time, I really wasn't expecting much. Was I surprised! They'd thought of everything. I was impressed not only with the great graphics and ease of navigating the pages, but they had already thought through the various types of help that could possibly need to be scheduled, and included great tips for different kinds of situations.
The Help Schedule page made my job as care coordinator unbelievably easy and smooth. I could check anytime of day or night to see who had signed up to help with upcoming needs and even find out the menu for the meals that were being delivered. When I think about the number of phone calls and emails that would have been required to communicate and coordinate dozens of friends' intentions and efforts, I'm so grateful for WhatFriendsDo because of the time (and headaches!) it saved me.
But, beyond that, my friend's husband (who was overwhelmed by the sudden and unfamiliar territory he was in and an introvert besides) was relieved of having to take and make literally hundreds of phone calls throughout the course of the past few weeks. Family members and friends from here and around the country were kept abreast of the sometimes hourly developments on the blog page of WhatFriendsDo. And, thanks to the Guestbook, they were able to send messages that provided encouragement and support during some long, anxious days.
However, it was the words of my friend - the subject of our WhatFriendsDo "team effort" - that summed it up best: "Organizing the web site, sharing my status with everyone, and being there for my family created connections that harnessed the power of love, friends and faith to heal both body and spirit." And isn't that what friends do?
Bev Gallagher
Indianapolis, Indiana
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We might not be able to change the outcome of your situation, but we hope we can change the journey!
WhatFriendsDo.com Staff  |
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