November is National Family Caregivers Month—a Time to Thank, Support, Educate and Empower Care Partners!
To honor the work of caregivers and to focus public attention on the contributions they make throughout our area we would like to publicly acknowledge your special care partner.
Do you think that your caregiver is the best?
Show your caregiver that you care by nominating them for the special recognition they deserve! We will do email blasts throughout the month of November highlighting those who have given so much—and given up so much to support others. One extraordinary caregiver will be crowned “Caregiver of the Year” by the Hampton Roads Chapter and will receive a prize package fit for a king or queen.
Caregivers: Who They Are?
There are a wide range of care giving activities, just as there are a wide range of abilities and disabilities among people with MS. Someone giving care to a person who has relatively few functional difficulties may be helping with injections of a disease-modifying drug and offering support in dealing with the medical team. Someone caring for a person with a more severe level of disability may be involved in daily activities like toileting, dressing, transferring, and feeding, as well as medical treatments.
Caregivers can be the spouse or partner, daughters, sons, parents, siblings, other relatives, or even a friend of the person in need of assistance.
Up to one quarter of individuals living with MS require long-term care services at some point during the course of the disease. Often, a family member steps into the role of primary caregiver, becoming some of the 65 million informal caregivers that provide 80% of our nation’s long-term care.
How Does the Nomination Process Work?
The Hampton Roads Chapter will accept nominations for the 2012 Caregiver of the Year until November 16, 2012. Please mail or email your letter of support (1,000 words or less) telling us how your caregiver shines above all the rest. Please be sure to include a cover letter answering the questions listed below:
- What is your name, address and phone number?
- What is the name, address and phone number of the person you are nominating?
- What is your relationship to the nominee? (ex. Spouse, parent, friend)
- How long has s/he acted as your care partner?
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Describe his/her responsibilities as a care partner.
Things to know:
- Please include pictures of the nominee and yourself if at all possible.
- The nominee must have provided care to the nominator within the last 12 months.
- Winners will be selected by a panel.
- By submitting a nomination you grant permission to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (“NMSS”), Hampton Roads Chapter to use, reuse, publish and republish your name, voice, likeness, and/or other indicia of identity, in any medium now known or hereafter developed, alone or in conjunction with other material, without restriction as to changes or alterations, for editorial, educational, promotional and advertising purposes, including without limitation in connection with the solicitation of contributions and the furtherance of the corporate objectives of NMSS, and to use biographical and other information about me in conjunction therewith.
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Submit your nomination by November 16, 2012 to:
Mail: National MS Society
Hampton Roads Chapter
Attn: Caregiver of the Year Panel
760 Lynnhaven Parkway, Suite 201
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Email: robyn.hirsch@nmss.org
How Will the Nominees and Winner be Recognized?
The National MS Society, Hampton Roads Chapter will be conducting a Caregiver awareness campaign during the month of November to thank, support, educate and empower care partners and the community. Email blasts, web features, and facebook statuses during the month will feature different Caregiver of the Year nominees, as well as education and resources about caregiving. One extraordinary caregiver, as decided by our panel, will be crowned “2012 Caregiver of the Year” by the Hampton Roads Chapter and will receive a prize package fit for a king or queen.