Posted 2/22/2013 by Molly Flood

The best lesson I’ve learned since the day my twins were born is to accept all offers of help. This was especially the case when I returned to the hospital a week after my initial discharge. People wanted to help, but it was overwhelming to keep track of the many offers of assistance. That’s when MealTrain came to our rescue. Meal Train allows your friends and family to sign up for time slots to bring food. It’s a tool that takes the hassle out a general offer of assistance into a hot dinner on the table.

The MealTrain model is a natural one for bar associations to emulate. As I've written before, the organized bar is a community that can and should help one another during difficult times. Louisiana’s SOLACE program is a prime example of how this can work.  When a member of the state’s legal community suffers a tragedy, SOLACE helps coordinate office assistance, child care, meals or whatever the family may need. SOLACE provides the infrastructure to allow your members to quickly help their colleagues in need. This program's simple yet effective model has now been adopted by the State Bar of Nevada and the Nebraska State Bar Association. Tap into the generosity of your members and make sure that volunteering is never an onerous task. Let’s work to develop systems and programs that help our members give back with a minimum of stress.