National Family Caregiver Month

Dear Community Partner, 

In preparation for National Family Caregiver Month, the Wisconsin Family & Caregiver Support Alliance or WFACSA team has developed a Marketing Toolkit that we would like to share with our community partners in advance of November 1st.  The Toolkit can be used by you and your organization throughout the month of November to offer caregiver education, resources, and opportunities to connect.  You will note that each week has a focus area.  Clicking on each week’s blue focus area (below) brings you to jpegs, articles, videos, and other content applicable to our state’s family and informal caregivers.  You are encouraged to share this content starting on November 1st. 

 Please be advised that additional links and resources may be added throughout the month of October.  For example, we will include the Governor’s Proclamation for National Family Caregivers Month once it becomes available.  For this reason, please be sure to come back to these active links for the most up-to-date information.

 Collaboration!  In addition to asking for your help to spread awareness through the month of November, WFACSA has joined the Caregiver Action Network campaign #CaregiversConnect as an official partner.  We invite you to join the #CaregiversConnect campaign as an official Partner as well.  This type of collaboration is in keeping with the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers, which was created in 2022.  The intent of the National Strategy is to support and bring awareness to the Nation’s family and informal caregivers of all ages, from youth to grandparents, regardless of where they live or what caregiving looks like for them and their loved ones.  Our Toolkit was created within this same spirit of support for all.

 We want to thank the WFACSA’s team of professionals and family caregivers who work to address family caregivers’ needs and who celebrate caregivers during November’s National Family Caregiver Month with this Toolkit.  Each day WFACSA works to recognize the estimated 580,000 Wisconsin caregivers and bring awareness to the $9.2 billion of unpaid care provided by family and informal caregivers annually.  The WFACSA Steering Committee Organizations include the following:

•       Wisconsin Bureau of Aging and Disability Resources (BADR), 
•       Wisconsin Board for People with Development Disabilities (BPDD),
•       WisconSibs, Inc., 
•       Respite Care Association of Wisconsin (RCAW),
•       Community Living Alliance,
•       Milwaukee County DHHS – Aging Services,
•       Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resource, Inc. (GWAAR). 

 EASY ACCESS!  Each day in November, WFACSA will post Toolkit content to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WisconsinFamilyCaregiver/.  Please feel free to follow, like, and share content from our page to yours! 

  Toolkit focus area, each week is an active link:

1. Week 1: November 1st – 5th  Acknowledgement of National Family Caregiver Month and Helping Caregivers Self-Identify– The material and content offered in this week is to help family caregivers answer the question, “Am I a caregiver?” Week one’s materials include a press release by WFACSA and the Governor’s Proclamation. You are welcome to use the press release partially or in its entirety for your local newspaper(s).
2. Week 2: November 6th – 12th Caregiver Self-Care: “Self-care is not all salt baths and chocolate — it is also creating a life you don’t feel the need to escape from.” This week’s content provides education on how to set boundaries, ask for help, and incorporate self-care as part of a daily routine. Also included in this week’s content is information from Nevada Lifespan Respite Care Coalition, which offers 12 short videos and written excerpts of what self-care is and why it’s essential, especially for family caregivers.
3. Week 3: November 13th – 19th Funding Resources: This week’s content offers Wisconsin (and some national) funding resources specific to family caregivers.  Funding options range from grants for respite care to support for persons caring for someone with dementia to support for grandparents or other relatives stepping in as the primary caregivers for grandchildren or other relative children. 
4. Week 4: November 20th – 26th Virtual Supports: From podcasts to radio shows to virtual support groups, oh my! Find all the most convenient ways to get and offer support as a family caregiver. You can also create a Trualta account, FREE for Wisconsin family caregivers!
5. Week 5: November 27th – 30th Advocacy & Training: Want to learn how to contact your local leaders about issues important to you? Want practical training that fits into your schedule? Learn about family caregiver issues and Wisconsin’s current state of affairs, and get family caregiver training that fits into your schedule. 

We are sharing the Statewide Toolkit with Tribal and County Aging Units (T/AUs), Aging & Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs), Caregiver Coalitions, Senior Centers, Boards, family caregivers, non-profit agencies, legislatures, and other partners in hopes that some or all the information can be used to reach family caregivers in your communities. You are welcome to replicate the content in your newsletters & on your social media platforms and websites. 

Respectfully, 

WFACSA Steering Committee