Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Scott, Diana Benitez, Brian Crawford, Sam Gainous and Jeff Duerstock.
In 2012, founder Kimberly Scott became a part-time caregiver. Her mother was diagnosed with early-onset dementia. Monthly, she began traveling back and forth from her home in Dallas, TX to El Paso, TX, where her mother lived. Kimberly juggled challenges, uncertainty, costs, and stress in her mother’s life. On November 19, 2019, during the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, Kristina Brown and Dr. JoAnn Lynn testified about the negative health and wellness implications caregiving can have on unpaid caregivers. https://waysandmeans.house.gov/legislation/hearings/caring-aging-americans
On this day, Kimberly learned: Since 2011, every day, ten thousand people turn 65. In the United States, there are 43+ million unpaid caregivers. At that moment, she understood she was not alone in her struggles to overcome the challenges she faced in caring for her mother. She also recognized a lingering problem in society and a glaring need which she would stand up and advocate for. In the wake of these realizations, Scott founded the non-profit organization over a year ago called the “Do As We Do Foundation,” whose purpose is to provide unpaid caregivers with relevant education, guidance, a support community, and financial assistance.
Kimberly was elated when upon asking her connections and friends, a group of willing volunteers (Diana, Brian, Sam, and Jeff), who also believed in her mission, agreed to come on board to help her develop the organization’s structure.
The Do As We Do foundation has been regularly broadcasting live interviews on its social media platforms since April 2020. Show topics include interviews with current unpaid caregivers who are sharing their caregiving stories and a variety of professional guests who serve the caregiving industry, including healthcare, legal, and financial. The organization is actively fundraising to continue helping support unpaid caregivers in need. They continue to develop further support networks and educational modules for the future.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Nothing great can be built without challenges. Challenges for the organization have come in many forms. Do As We Do is built with a support staff of people who are 100% volunteering their time and efforts in their spare time. Each member has a full-time career and family to care for in addition to going above and beyond to help build the foundation from the ground up.
The organization was built in the midst of a lot of very loud media noise. Establishing the foundation during a global pandemic when established organizations are asking for attention and funds caused Do As We Do to have to get creative to gain attention. Unpaid caregivers that are caring for a loved one are pivoting on a daily basis in fear of their loved ones contracting the deadly virus.
Finding the current most relevant topics, caregivers, and interviewees willing to share has continued to be a challenge. Working to understand the unpaid caregiver’s changing needs during this uncertain time. The staff worked very hard to explain to unpaid caregivers what the Do As We Do Foundation is built for.
Do As We Do Foundation – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
According to the National Alliance for Caregivers and AARP, each day, over 43.5M people provide care for a loved one. The problem is that in many cases, caregivers are untrained, unpaid, unprepared, and uncertain. This life phase may have come about unexpectedly and they are even asked to give care from a distance. These situations can be challenging and overwhelming.
The Do As We Do Foundation believes that these unpaid Caregivers and their loved ones deserve to live both confidently and happily. The foundation’s mission is to:
1) Provide valuable educational content and guidance to help unpaid Caregivers be better prepared for each day, 2) build a support community to empower caregivers to find the resources they need, and 3) to build a monetary fund that will help provide financial assistance for caregivers in need.
What sets the Do As We Do Foundation apart is the fact that it’s as simple as it can be. It’s simple to follow, it’s simple to get involved, it’s simple to donate, it’s simple to get assistance, it’s simple to stay active and up-to-date. It’s building easily accessible education, which is easy to consume, broken down in a very simple way to understand. The part which caregivers struggle with the most is that absolutely everything seems complicated and convoluted. The foundation’s founding group wanted to bring hope to a potentially dark place for caregivers and provide a shining light for those who are going through tough times. We want to help and we want to make it very simple, which may be the only simple thing in a very complicated scenario of a caregiver’s day to day life.
Lastly, we want everyone to start having an early conversation around, “it’s not about if you die, it is about if you live”… then what, are you and your loved one prepared?
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Kimberly and the volunteers believe we make our own luck. Things happen, good and bad. That being said, we do feel extremely fortunate to have been connected over our careers to the many people who are helping volunteer and build this foundation, especially the founding volunteers. Kimberly gets to build this foundation with other unpaid caregivers and volunteers on a weekly basis, which makes her heart full.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.doaswedo.org
- Email: donate@doaswedo.org or volunteer@doaswedo.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/do.as.we.do/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoAsWeDo
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Do_As_We_Do
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC07T21aEnXcLM-jCI4OEHXw
https://www.linkedin.com/company/do-as-we-do-foundation/?viewAsMember=true
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