Nonprofit site
CaringBridge continues on its relentless growth track with the launch of user-generated video that lets site users share their stories with friends and family.
The project, facilitated by Minneapolis-based web design and development firm
Nighthawk Marketing, features a pre-designed video template that asks users to create an orange or white heart (the colors of the heart in the CaringBridge logo) with an inspiring word or a loved one's name on it. Users can then upload a photo, and it is added to the video.
CaringBridge debuted in 1997, as a way for seriously ill people to create one central, online page that could keep friends and relatives updated about their health changes. Since then, the site has recorded nearly two billion visits, and founder Sona Mehring says the group is continually looking for ways to expand services and deepen the connections made through the site.
"There's still tremendous potential for how CaringBridge can be used," she says. "All of our development supports the idea that people are now used to sharing online, and that we just need to find ways to harness those networks."
She noted that in addition to the introduction of the video, other service offerings are being refined, such as a calendar program that allows visitors to volunteer for making meals or coming along on a doctor visit.
"People who are using CaringBridge are going through a journey," says Mehring. "They appreciate that they can reach out to others through the site. It lets them know that they don't have to be on this journey alone."
Source: Sona Mehring, CaringBridge
Writer: Elizabeth Millard