The Power of Giving Local: How Your Support Makes a Difference

Every community has organizations working quietly behind the scenes to make life a little better for someone else. They support families through difficult seasons, connect people with resources, and step in when life takes an unexpected turn. Often, they’re doing some of their most meaningful work without much fanfare. A Week Away is one of those organizations. We’re based in Lancaster, but we support families in 15 Pennsylvania counties.

When we give locally, we help make sure that work continues.

Who benefits when you give locally?

Giving to a local nonprofit is an opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of people in our own communities. It’s an investment in the neighbors, families, and individuals who may one day need the very services that local organizations provide.

For nonprofits, community support does more than fund programs. It creates stability, allows organizations to plan for the future, and helps them reach more people. A donation, a volunteer’s time, a business sponsorship, or simply sharing a mission with someone new can all help move that work forward.

Most charitable giving comes from people. Of the estimated $617.20 billion given to U.S. charities in 2025, individual donors gave $394.2 billion, according to Giving USA 2026.

The impact isn’t always immediate or easy to measure. Sometimes, it looks like a family getting the help they need at exactly the right time.

Where does A Week Away fit?

At A Week Away Foundation, we believe every family facing a life-threatening illness deserves the opportunity to step away from the demands of treatment and caregiving, even if just for a week.

A diagnosis affects more than the person receiving treatment. It touches spouses, children, parents, and caregivers. Medical appointments and uncertainty can take over family life, leaving little room for rest or simply enjoying time together.

That’s why A Week Away finances and coordinates Respite weeks for families across all 15 counties we serve. We help cover the cost of a week away, giving families the chance to slow down, reconnect, and make memories together outside the routine of illness.

Since our founding in 2014, community support has helped us provide more than 385 Respites to families. Behind that number are families who have spent meaningful time together, found a little breathing room, and returned home with renewed strength.

That impact is possible because people choose to care. Local donors, businesses, volunteers, healthcare partners, and community organizations all play a role in helping us make these weeks possible.

What does your gift cover for a family?

A Respite costs the family zero dollars. Community support covers it.

Our volunteer Respite Coordinators find and secure housing in the place the family chooses, generally within 500 miles of home or the hospital. Transportation is covered, and we pay most costs ahead of time. Families also receive prepaid Visa cards to use for all expenses (and fun!) along the way.

A week away from work can also mean a week without pay. We call that an opportunity cost. If a family member has used up their paid time off and vacation, we may be able to cover some or all of the wages they’d lose, paid directly toward bills like rent, a car payment, or utilities.

What can a small gift do?

Not every gift has to be large to matter. Consistent support from people who believe in a mission can help a nonprofit build the resources and relationships needed to serve families today and into the future.

Small gifts are also how most donors give. In its report on the second quarter of 2026, the Fundraising Effectiveness Project found that donors who give $100 or less still make up more than half of all donors.

For A Week Away, those gifts help provide Respite for families facing a life-threatening illness. Your support stays local, helping families in our community step away from the challenges of illness, reconnect, and spend meaningful time together.

As we approach the end of the year, we’re reminded that generosity is about more than a single donation. It’s about the kind of community we want to build, one where families facing difficult circumstances know they aren’t alone, and where people are willing to step up when help is needed.

When you support a local nonprofit, you’re helping make that community possible.

How does ExtraGive make a small gift go further?

On Friday, November 20, we’re part of ExtraGive, Lancaster County’s 24-hour day of giving. ExtraGive’s stretch pool is divided by how many unique donors each nonprofit brings in, not by dollars raised, so a $25 gift to A Week Away counts toward our share as much as a $1,000 one.

Only online gifts count toward the stretch pool, so make yours at ExtraGive.org during the 24 hours of November 20.

Help us make Respite possible

As A Week Away prepares for the year ahead, your support can help more families find peace, rest, and togetherness during one of life’s most difficult seasons.

Whether you give, volunteer, support Light the Tree, or share our mission with someone new, you are helping make a difference for families in our community. Light the Tree runs from November 27 through December 23.

Thank you for being part of the A Week Away community.