Survival Mode Parent

Welcome to Survival Mode Parent!

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The goal of this website is to match people who need help while their child is in the hospital to people who are willing to provide that help.

We rely on volunteers from every part of the country to help others. Please consider becoming a Survival Mode Parent volunteer. This simply means you'll be "on call" in case somebody in your part of the country needs help with their basic needs.

Work in the city? You're probably close to a hospital! Swing by on your way home and help someone out.
Unemployed? Use your time for something good.
Stay at home mom? Use your day to teach your kids what caring for others is really about.

In addition, we rely on parents in need to request the help. If your child is in the hospital, please consider applying to be matched to one of our volunteers, who is willing to help you with your basic needs like laundry, errands, transportation, etc.

For more information, please visit our "About Us" section.

What does a Survival Mode Parent volunteer do?

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Simple answer - the Survival Mode Parent volunteer is there to provide whatever errands both parties are comfortable with. For example, laundry, pet care, meals, grocery shopping, transportation, housecleaning, delivery, childcare, etc.

The goal of this website is to simply match parents who need help with people who can help them. In "survival mode," not much matters except the basics - eating, sleeping, and trying to get your child well.

Our hope is that after the website is done matching volunteers with parents in need, you will continue the relationship on your own, providing help to one another as time progresses.

About Us

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I got a wake-up call to the needs of parents in the PICU and NICU when a blog friend had a very hard hospital stay with her young son. Fortunately, her basic needs were taken of by some of her many blog readers, but not all parents are so fortunate.

It was this realization that led to the creation of this website - a network that I'm hoping will facilitate matching bloggers who can help to bloggers (or non-bloggers) who need help.

Here's how it works:

For Volunteers:

Visit this page and fill out this simple contact form. This is all you have to do right now. That will put you on my list of people who are willing to help others should the need arise in your area.

If there is someone with a need in your area, I will put the two of you in contact and you can help them out however they need and you are willing, be it laundry, pet care, meals, etc.

What the parent needs will vary on a case-by-case basis, but the goal is to make sure their basic needs are met as they walk through this difficult time with their child.

For parents with kids in the hospital:

If your child is in the PICU or NICU, simply fill out this simple contact form.

If there is a volunteer available in your area, I will put the two of you in contact. From there, hopefully the person will be able to help you with basic needs such as laundry, pet care, meals, etc.

Our volunteers will help you with your basic needs so you can spend your time focusing on your child.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Can I sign up if I don't live in the United States?

Yes! We already have volunteers from both Canada and Australia. Signing up to be a volunteer is always encouraged. If you need help outside of the U.S., I will do my best to help match you with the volunteers who have signed up overseas.

Where are all the volunteers so far?

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The blue dots are where all our volunteers are so far. We need to fill in this whole map with blue dots! Sign up now! (Please.)

To answer a commonly asked question: YES! You can still sign up to volunteer if you live outside the United States!

I'd say this embedded map works about 50% of the time (sorry - not great odds!) If you don't see any blue dots indicating where all our volunteers live, click the "view larger map" link, you'll see it on Google maps! If that still doesn't work, try refreshing.

View Survival Mode Parent Volunteers in a larger map

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Request Survival Mode Parent Business Cards

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Things we need help with right now

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Volunteering is the best way you can help this organization!! We need volunteers from all over the world to make this organization work! We especially need you if you live in an area with a ranked Children's hospital, since these areas will have the most out-of-town NICU and PICU patients.

If you can donate items for a raffle to raise money for Survival Mode Parent, please email me at mandy@survivalmodeparent.org

Also, if you are a company or organization who can donate items for a NICU/PICU parent "survival kit" like this one, please email me at mandy@survivalmodeparent.org