RICHMOND, Va. -- Nurse Kathyrn Ray has been overwhelmed over the past year caring for her husband battling a chronic illness and then grieving his loss.
“Once he passed away totally of course going through the grieving process and I couldn't even focus on anything,” she said.
Adding to her load was balancing her home and work life during the global pandemic.
“Everything was just an extra layer of stress,” Ray said.
But help wasn't that far away with friends and family going online to create sign-up lists to help out with meals, chores and playdates.
“It was super helpful to have all those people come together and put together these things for us,” Ray said.
However, over time those lists were becoming another thing to do.
“It was a little bit of a struggle," Ray admitted. “OK, let me log in and see what my kids are doing today. But then I have to go to another online platform who is supposed to be bringing us a meal tonight. It almost became a little overwhelming. There was so many different platforms.”
Tara Daudani has been in Ray’s shoes.
Three years ago, when she was diagnosed with stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer, Daudani needed help, too.
But she thought there had to be a better way to get that help.
“Wouldn't it be great to put all of these things that can help us and all these people who offered to help can choose what works for them,” Daudani said.
So Daudani launched her own non-profit, Lend Them a Helping Hand, in March.
The online "help" registry is one place to go to get help or assign it.
“Nothing like this exists,” Daudani explained. “We couldn't find anything to model this after. We had to build this from the ground up.”
Daudani said hundreds of people so far have used the new website to get help with everything from organizing needs from an illness, to a new baby.
Ray wishes the website was around during her time of need. But as a nurse she is passing it on to others.
“I work in the hospital with new moms,” Ray said. “I'm telling them all the time about Lend Them a Helping Hand.”
There is no money involved with the site. It is all services and people helping people, Daudani said.
Click here to learn more about Lend Them a Helping Hand.
