Our Programs
CaringMatters (founded in 1989 as Hospice Caring) provides compassionate social supports, without charge, through trained volunteer network, serving children, adults and families facing life-threatening illness and experiencing grief. The organization's community and professional education programs increase awareness and action around end-of-life issues, advance care planning and grief. All CaringMatters' programs are free of charge.
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Patient and Caregiver Support Services
The Volunteer Helping Hands program offers short-term, social and emotional support for people of all ages with a serious illness. Services include companionship, assistance with household tasks, respite care, patient advocacy, limited transportation to appointments, and complementary services.
Our weekly, online Caregiver Support group, offered free of charge, is open to caregivers who are caring for loved ones in their home and facing the challenges of this special and important role.
The Whole You program connects patients with cancer and blood diseases, and their families, with valuable free or low-cost and free community resources and support services. Referrals to resources often include support groups, counseling, food and nutrition programs, medical and home care equipment, and social and recreation programs. The goal is to help individuals improve quality of life and maintain the highest possible ability to function within the community throughout medical treatment and beyond.
Bereavement support groups enable people who have experienced the death of a loved one to share their stories, learn from one another and create support networks. CaringMatters volunteers who have experienced their own loss co-facilitate the groups. Groups are regularly formed for spousal loss, adult child loss, parent loss, sibling or friend loss, and loss by suicide. Additional groups are formed based on community need.
Through conversations and activities, Good Grief Clubs help school children in grades K-12 to explore their feelings, develop healthy coping strategies and find comfort in learning that they are not alone in their grief. These school-based seven-week support groups are co-facilitated by a trained CaringMatters volunteer and a school counselor. Clubs occur during the school day in school through a partnership with the Montgomery County Public Schools.
CaringMatters’ Family Nights program serves parents and their children who have experienced the death of a loved one. Each two-hour evening event is held prior to a major holiday which is often a difficult time. Guided conversations, creative arts activities and a dinner encourage families to create something together to take home as a way to continue conversations about their loved ones and to keep their memories alive. Families also learn coping tools and plan how they will handle upcoming celebrations.
This overnight, weekend camp serves grieving children and teens ages 6-17. CaringMatters volunteers operate the camp. Age-appropriate discussions and creative, fun-filled activities help campers share their feelings, develop coping skills and realize they are not alone in their grief. Camp Erin is part of The Moyer Foundation’s national network of bereavement camps. Bar-T, a premier child care provider, donates its accredited campground for the event.
Parenting While Grieving Online Workshop Series
This 8-week online workshop series includes the practice of essential parenting skills, such as listening, expressing, problem-solving, and setting limits within the context of a grieving family.
Our Community Education events and webinars develop community knowledge and cultivate constructive conversations about community resources, serious illness, caregiving, end-of-life, grief and related issues. Our Our staff regularly speak to community organizations on a variety of related topics.