World Caring Day

Take a moment outside of the normal hustle and bustle of daily life to focus on the care of someone in the community who may have health struggles or long-term medical issues. It’s time to observe World Caring Day! 

History of World Caring Day

World Caring Day was founded by CaringBridge, which is a nonprofit organization that was inspired by events that took place in 1997. When baby Brighid was born very premature, a family friend wanted to make the burden of sharing news with everyone a little bit easier. As a software engineer, Sona Mehring was able to create the CaringBridge website. 

For more than 25 years since, the website has been run by nonprofit volunteers to help provide people fighting illnesses, along with their families, with a platform to help make sharing the news about their medical journey a less burdensome experience.

In honor of the CaringBridge 25th anniversary, World Caring Day was founded in 2022 to celebrate the thousands of families whose lives have been helped and changed through the use of this website.

How to Observe World Caring Day

Looking for ideas on how to celebrate World Caring Day? Get involved with some of these or other ideas on how to take care:

Show You Care

World Caring Day was founded as an opportunity to remind more people to take seriously the needs and care of others who are struggling. This might be showing up for a person who has a life-threatening illness, or it could mean being a good neighbor and picking up groceries for someone who isn’t feeling well. No matter the situation, everyday there are ways that people in the local community could use a helping, caring hand!

Consider some of these and other tips, offered by CaringBridge, that can help make acts of kindness more meaningful for people with health struggles:

• Be a Listening Ear. Sometimes people who have health struggles may just need a friend or family member to listen while they process through their feelings in a non-judgmental space, without unsolicited advice or problem-solving. 
• Provide a Meal. Sometimes, the most daily details of life can become very challenging when dealing with health issues, medical appointments and hospital visits. Having a home-cooked meal provided can make all the difference for getting through the day! 
• Offer a Hug. It has been scientifically proven that hugs are healing and beneficial to the health, so be sure to show a person they are loved and cared for on World Caring Day by giving them a healing hug (with permission). 

Donate to CaringBridge

As a nonprofit organization, CaringBridge website offers their online platform for people to share their health updates without charge. So the costs of running and maintaining the website comes through donations from caring friends, family members and others in the community. In honor of World Caring Day, some people might like to make a donation to the CaringBridge organization.