About Us

About ARCH National Respite Network

The ARCH program was begun in the early 1990s with funding from the Children's Bureau in the US Department of Health and Human Services to support a national network of federally funded respite and crisis care programs for children with disabilities, chronic illness and at risk of abuse and neglect. During its tenure as a national resource center, ARCH staff developed an array of resources for families and respite providers, including the national respite locator service, guides for starting respite programs in communities, and fact sheets on a variety of topics related to respite and crisis care not only for children and their families but also for families who are caring for the elderly.

When federal funding was no longer available, ARCH continued to make these resources available with the support of several hundred members of the ARCH National Respite Network who contribute to the organization each year.

home page	www.archrespite.org
email	mmathers@chtop.org
phone	919-490-5577
fax	919-490-4905

About Lotsa Helping Hands

Lotsa Helping Hands was created to support family caregivers and volunteers by empowering their circles of community who are eager to help those in need.

Our mission is to provide the communication resources facilitating a world where caregivers feel empowered to ask for help, and in so doing, improve their own health and quality-of-life; volunteers can become part of the solution when family, friends, neighbors or colleagues are in need of help, and community becomes a recognized way to find meaning in both giving and receiving.

Our Story

We created Lotsa Helping Hands after witnessing four years of awe-inspiring community support and response to a family member’s serious medical crisis. Seeing how earnestly friends wanted to help, and juggling the difficulty of organizing their assistance, we designed Lotsa Helping Hands with the understanding of how to bring together a variety of social circles and what a resulting community like this would need. Lotsa Helping Hands is easy to use and requires no training for either the Coordinator who creates the community or the members who participate.

Our Commitment to Philanthropy

Because Lotsa Helping Hands was inspired by the outpouring of support during our own caregiving experiences, we have a strong commitment to giving back, ourselves. We support the nonprofit sector and align with national organizations who offer our service to their members and constituents. We donate pro bono expertise and financial resources to the nonprofit organizations we serve.

What to Do Next

Choose a coordination service that might be right for you and your circles of community. Learn more about how it works or create your own community today.

Share your story on our Facebook Page

If you are a member of the media, please visit our media room.

A service of ARCH National Respite Network