Support for Working Family Caregivers

The Caregiver Action Employee Network program helps major employers support family caregivers in the workplace. The program includes a dedicated website for caregivers full of tips, a caregiver stress assessment, and a caregiving assessment for the organization, among other resources. This program helps employers ensure that their employees remain productive and healthy, thus reducing employer costs. One program beneficiary is USAID, whose 16,000+ employees living internationally have access to a dedicated Help Desk representative with a special phone number and a customized website interface.

The Caregiver Help Desk

In the fall of 2019, CAN added to its services the Caregiver Help Desk , which provides free, confidential support to family caregivers across the country. Staffed by trained caregiving experts, this live support offers guidance through the website via an online chat function. The help desk resource is made possible through a partnership with Carallel , a provider of caregiver support solutions combining personalized expert guidance with digital tools.

CAN Corporate Partners

CAN’s major funding source for programming comes from its generous corporate partnerships. More than 40 preeminent pharmaceutical, bio-tech, and consumer product corporations are members of CAN’S Corporate Leadership Council , which has experienced deep growth since its inception in 2015. CLC membership giving categories range from the $15,000 Supporting Partner level to the $100,000 Sustaining Partner level.

Corporate partners must demonstrate a committee to:

• Ethical business practices

• Safe products and/or services

• Employee health and wellbeing

• Community service

Through their corporate sponsorship, companies such as Biogen, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, United Healthcare, and Home Instead are among those enabling CAN to provide resources and services free to the public in exchange for aligning with a cause that resonates with their employees and consumers, accessing experts in family caregiving, and staying apprised of policy issues facing this important segment of the population.

Grassroots Volunteering

In 2019, CAN developed the initial concept for Community Care Corps (CCC), an initiative designed to encourage and build volunteer programs at the community level. Today, through a federally-funded grant program, CCC and its partner organizations (CAN, The Oasis Institute , USAging , and Altarum ) invest millions annually in innovative local models that provide nonmedical, yet critical volunteer assistance to family caregivers, older adults, and people with disabilities, helping them maintain independence in home-based or community-based settings.

Extensive Digital and Educational Offerings

In reaching more family caregivers where they are, CAN’s easily accessible resources reach millions each year. Its Family Caregiver Toolbox offers guidance on numerous caregiving situations and provides tailored information by specific conditions. Its monthly e-newsletter Take Care! offers key resources, caregiver stories, and advocacy updates through a national 26,000-subscriber distribution.

In 2021, CAN launched its #CaregiverAnd campaign to encourage family givers to not lose sight of who they are in the midst of managing the myriad of caregiving responsibilities. The campaign shifts the focus to the other roles, activities, and passions in the life of a caregiver.

WATCH: #CaregiverAnd

A key vehicle for CAN, its social media presence has steadily increased through greater visibility on Facebook through #CaregivingHappens , Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. In 2022, CAN wrote, produced, and distributed on social media its own micro-videos underscoring the dayto-day challenges faced by caregivers.

CAN has a long history of well-attended inperson and online educational programs. The pandemic prompted a move away from on-site presentations to the increased use of webinars, which has greatly enhanced the organization’s reach nationally. Once held, webinars are then added to CAN’s expansive digital library. CAN also uses email marketing to reach influential constituents, including Department of Veterans Affairs caregiver coordinators, agencies on aging, patient advocacy groups, and CAN’s database of family caregivers.