Charity of the week: CaringBridge

CaringBridge (caringbridge.org) provides free personal websites to people with sick loved ones, giving families a space to post and share health updates in order to keep far-flung friends and family informed. Visitors to the sites can leave messages of support and encouragement, as well as coordinate help and care for struggling families through the SupportPlanner service, like arranging for meals, caring for pets, providing childcare, and offering caregivers regular breaks. Since the first site was created in 1997, for the family of a premature baby, more than 320,000 personal sites have been created, with more than 43 million visitors in 2011 alone. Families can set their own levels of privacy for their site, which is always free of advertising.

Each charity we feature has earned a four-star overall rating from Charity Navigator, which ranks not-for-profit organizations on the strength of their finances, their control of administrative and fund-raising expenses, and the transparency of their operations. Four stars is the group’s highest ranking.

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