Caregiving
We Are Here For You!
Our life journeys provide us with both joy and sorrow. At the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of La Crosse, we look to take care of each other in times of loss, personal crisis, or emergency. Many of us may have come to this religious community in the wake of such losses; a death in the family, divorce, job insecurity, physical or mental health challenges, or family crisis. We understand the importance of a supportive community and want you to know you are not alone in facing these challenges.
Our lay caregivers may visit members, make phone calls, send cards, and provide other acts of care such as meal preparation and delivery. If you or someone you know is in need of support, there are a few avenues to find it:
- You may let the congregation know through the sharing of joys and concerns during our Sunday services. There is time for this at every service, whether you are attending online or in person. If you are uncomfortable speaking, you also have the option of writing down your concern and sharing it with our Facilitator before service begins,. They will read the concern on your behalf.
- You can also contact our Congregational Administrator, Heather, who works with the Member Services Team to organize and facilitate Caregiving volunteers. Let us know the level of care you desire. You may reach Heather at admin@uulacrosse.org.
Be a Caregiving Volunteer
Caregiving volunteers support the Member Services Team with caring for our Fellowship members. Whenever a caregiving need arises, the team will call upon these volunteers for support and assistance. If you would like to be added to our list of Caregiving volunteers, please contact Heather (admin@uulacrosse.org)
Caregiver Covenant
Our life journeys provide us with both joy and sorrow. At the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of La Crosse, we are a caring community that inspires, nurtures and empowers one another, and we look to take care of each other in times of loss, personal crisis, or emergency. With trust, respect and compassion, we will respect any level of confidentiality requested, maintain healthy boundaries, and seek assistance and support from other volunteers and staff when needed. We will strive to listen deeply, communicate clearly and act with love toward one another as Caregivers.
Potential Duties
- Sending cards: we send cards for certain life events. You should sign the card with something like “(your name) for the UU Fellowship of La Crosse” or “Your friends at the UU Fellowship of La Crosse”. If you’d like, we can provide the card, postage, and return label!
- Making calls: picking up the phone to say “hello” and check on someone can make a big difference!
- Home visits: some of our members and friends are unable to attend services regularly and appreciate visitors to stop by and chat for a bit.
- Hospital visits: we may ask for volunteers to visit someone while they are recovering in the hospital.
- Food assistance: sometimes a member or friend will request help with organizing meals to be prepared and delivered (possibly due to illness, surgery, death of a loved one, etc.) and we will need help with organizing, preparing, and delivering these meals.
- Assisting with gatherings held at the Fellowship. For example, memorials and weddings. We sometimes put out calls for help with setting up, greeting attendees at the door, helping with parking, and cleaning up.
- Volunteers are not required to attend meetings or to serve on the Member Services team—although anyone is very welcome to!
Privacy Policy
All volunteers are expected to protect people’s privacy and dignity. Assume that anything shared with you during a visit or in conversation is not intended to be shared with others. Here’s what you can do:
Ask if they’d like you to share anything about their situation with the Fellowship. This can be done during Joys & Concerns, if they like. Or, they may just want the Member Services Team to be made aware of something. Be very specific about what you will share.
Support for Volunteers
The Member Services Team will periodically host trainings and provide other resources to assist with caregiving.
Essentials for Caring for One Another
- Caregiving is a ministry of listening and companioning, nothing more.
- Having good boundaries is a form of loving care.
- It is not the volunteer’s role to fix a situation, provide material support, provide counseling, etc. Be lovingly clear when someone asks you for support that you cannot provide.
- It’s okay that some things are beyond the scope of a congregation.
- Know when to ask for help. You can reach out to the Member Services team, the Board, or any of the other volunteers if you have questions or need help with a caregiving need.
- No one should expect Caregiver volunteers to replace a trained professional.