Gather My Crew – Connecting Communities to Those in Need

As a carer, you may feel like you need to handle everything on your own. But the truth is, caring for a loved one can be overwhelming and exhausting, and you don’t have to do it alone.

We are social creatures and connections with others are essential for our well-being, especially during tough times. That’s why Gather My Crew is here to support you. Aging is one of the main reasons people may need support.

As our loved ones get older, they may require more care and attention, which can be difficult to manage on your own. However, often when we’re helping to look after someone we love, we think of it as normal, and we might not realise we are a carer.

It’s important to recognize the role you play and the toll it can take on your own well-being. Gather My Crew is a not-for-profit organisation that is dedicated to creating connected communities that help each other – when and how they need it.

The charity does this by providing free tools and resources that make it easier to ask for, offer, and coordinate help. One of the charity’s tools is an app.

The Gather My Crew app is free to download Australiawide and bridges the gap between people who need help and their community of friends and family who want to support them.

It does this by allowing you to create a “crew” of trusted individuals who can help with tasks such as cooking meals, running errands, or providing emotional support. You choose who you want to be part of your crew, and this might include family, friends, neighbours, acquaintances, and paid support staff.

Allows you to create a “crew” of trusted individuals who can help with tasks such as cooking meals, running errands, or providing emotional support.

The app is effective at making it much easier to share the load and to ensure the right help is provided at the right time. By using the app, you can easily communicate with your crew, track tasks, and ensure that everyone is working together to provide the best possible support.

Helen’s daughter set up Gather My Crew for her after she had a terrible fall, leaving her with a broken knee, wrist, and noes.

After a month in hospital, Helen was relieved to return home but still couldn’t do basic tasks and this is when her crew truly stepped in to help.

Our close family friend was a wonderful emotional support, and he got me to all the medical appointments. My children did what they could, but being busy with their own families meant they had limited time to help. However, it was the unexpected kindness of the other residents in my retirement village, many of whom I didn’t even know well, that really made a difference. My neighbour, two doors down, took care of my bins, collected the mail, and ran errands for me. Three lovely ladies made sure my freezer was stocked, and others took me grocery shopping once I was able to do it.

And then there were the little acts of kindness – a bunch of flowers picked from the garden, freshly baked afternoon tea and the encouragement I needed to rejoin the social activities in the village.

For Helen, the support of her crew was vital to get her through this difficult time. It was also helpful to her daughter, who although was busy herself, she knew her mum was receiving the help she needed.

The Gather My Crew app is a powerful tool but is just one part of the organisation’s offerings. The charity also provides resources and tips to help individuals navigate challenging situations and make the most of the support available to them.

If you want to help someone, but the app doesn’t feel like the right option just now, Gather My Crew can provide you with the tools and resources to make a meaningful impact.

The charity also provides resources and tips to help individuals navigate challenging situations

Here are some tips for how to effectively offer to help:

• Be specific: Ask the person what they need help with and be specific about what you can offer. For example, if you offer to cook meals, let them know what type of meals you can cook and how often. • Be consistent: If you offer to help, make sure that you follow through. The person may be counting on you, so it’s important to be reliable.

• Be flexible: Be open to different ways that you can help. The person may not need exactly what you had in mind, so be willing to adapt.

• Be patient: The person may be going through a difficult time, so it’s important to be patient and understanding. Don’t expect them to be able to communicate their needs perfectly or to always be in a good mood.

As people age, they may also need more support than they used to. This can be a difficult transition for both the person and their loved ones. It’s important to recognize when someone needs extra help and to offer it in a compassionate and respectful way.

It’s also important to remember that caring for someone else is a form of work, and that it’s important to take care of yourself as well. Gather My Crew is a beacon of hope for carers and those in need of support.

It empowers individuals to ask for help, connects them to their community, and helps to alleviate the burden of caring for a loved one. By embracing the power of human connection, we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those we care for and in our own lives.

So, let’s come together and make a positive impact on the world, one crew at a time.

To find out more about Gather My Crew visit: www.gathermycrew.org.au

How to Get Started With the Gather My Crew App

1. DOWNLOAD THE APP: You can download the Gather My Crew app from the app store or Google Play. It’s free and secure, with an Australian based support desk who can help you with any questions. The app/crew can be managed by the person in need or by someone on their behalf, or a combination of the two. The person/people who manage the app and crew are called ‘The Captain.’ You can change who the Captain is at any time, so don’t be afraid to initially just download the app and have a play.

2. GATHER YOUR CREW: Within the app, your support network is called your crew. Once you have downloaded the app, the next step is to invite people to join your Crew. Think of friends, family and anyone who’s offered to help. Choose people from your phone contacts to send an SMS invite.

3. IDENTIFY HELP OPPORTUNITIES: When you’re overwhelmed, it’s often hard to suggest ways others can help. To support with this, the app uses your answers from a short questionnaire to build a list of common help requests outlined in your Help List.

4. CREATE TASKS: To ask for help from your crew, create a task. Easily choose a commonly requested task from your Help List. Or write your own.

5. SHARED CALENDAR: The description, date and time of your tasks will be added to the shared calendar and published task list. Your crew can then ‘Accept’ which tasks they can do.

6. EXTRA FEATURES: You can also add appointments to the calendar and can create folders and chats with your crew using the Messages button. This makes it easy for everyone to be on the same page.