Texas-Based Health Care Sharing Ministry Teams Up with Childhood Cancer Charity to Raise Awareness and Offer Support
IRVING, Texas, June 3, 2020 – In an effort to further its mission of inspiring healthier, joyful communities, OneShare Health, an ACA-exempt, Christian Health Care Sharing Ministry, has announced that its 1Share For OneShare charity initiative will be partnering with Rett’s Roost during the month of June.
"There are few things more important than strengthening the community,” said CEO of OneShare Health Buddy Combs. “At OneShare Health, we are blessed to be involved with so many great and inspiring organizations across the country. Building up from grassroots and helping give back to some of our nation's greatest charitable initiatives is what it’s all about. It’s an honor to work with these organizations, and we look forward to every 1Share for OneShare partnership we are a part of!”
A philanthropic campaign designed to raise awareness through social media, 1Share For OneShare’s number one goal is to support non-profits that align with the company’s mission and vision. Each month, OneShare Health dedicates a social media post to promoting a single charity that has been nominated by users of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn; users may even nominate a charity via the company’s Mission in Motion page. For every share the charity receives from social media users, the Christian healthshare will then donate $2 (up to $2,000) towards the non-profit. This month, that non-profit is Rett’s Roost.
Based in Ogunquit, ME, Rett’s Roost is a retreat center for families of children with cancer. Founded in June 2015 by Deana and Jim Cavan, Rett’s Roost is on a mission to offer a sense of sanctuary and community to families who have been affected by childhood cancer or child loss.
Today, the center offers three different types of retreats: ‘Positively Healing’ for families who have a child surviving cancer; ‘Open to Healing’ for families who have lost a child; and ‘Grief is Love’ one-day retreats for bereaved parents. According to the Cavans, who lost their infant son Everett to cancer in early 2015, these retreats have since provided “loving-kindness and supportive activities in a peaceful, natural setting” to 75 families from all over the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., at 18 total retreats.
This year, the Rett’s Roost retreats are on hold due to COVID-19. Instead, they are offering new virtual programs like online grief groups, online yoga for grief, and other virtual healing opportunities for parents including being able to speak to the healing professionals who normally attend their retreats, online; they've also sent out Quarantine Care Packages to families over the last few months. With plans to introduce a Family Grant program in the near future, the Cavans said that they look forward to being able to spread and share loving-kindness to those who are struggling to find hope, peace, and joy in their lives.
Meanwhile, just last May, 1Share For OneShare partnered with North Texas Relief, a charity founded by a dedicated group of men and women in March of this year, and whose Facebook page has more than 9,000 members from a variety of backgrounds and belief systems. In mid-March, the North Texas Relief team responded to a distress call from the daughter of a resident living at a low-income senior center in Denton, TX. They discovered that residents of this senior center could not fully support themselves and were reliant on outside organizations for food and supply support. Later, when the group discovered that 16 other senior living facilities were not receiving help, they expanded their mission and continued to help additional facilities.
Following the social distancing guidelines of the city, North Texas Relief has succeeded in gathering food and supplies for over 1200 seniors and are currently helping 400+ seniors every month. They offer perishable food, non-perishable food, hygiene items, arts and crafts, masks, drawings done by kids, and technical assistance to seniors on a weekly basis.
“It is incredibly energizing to deliver food to isolated seniors and see hope in their eyes and smiles on their faces,” said co-founder Nirav Desai. “Seniors are scared and lonely, and the help we are offering brings them hope in this difficult time. It is rewarding to know that we can help community members who have great needs but are not served by anyone else. I love that this group creates an opportunity for diverse people across the community to come together and make a positive impact on society. We tap into goodness that is already out there.”
Though the charity was founded in response to the COVID-19 crisis, Desai said he hopes North Texas Relief has a long-term ripple effect of shedding light on underserved groups in the community, noting that “good people respond when they are aware of a need.”
1Share For OneShare plans to continue helping local and nationwide charities each month, and anyone who would like to nominate a charity is invited to visit onesharehealth.com or follow OneShare Health on social media.
Health sharing ministries have been aiding families and individuals seeking alternative health care options for decades. Join OneShare Health’s Christian Health Care Sharing Ministry now and see how we truly are better together.
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
Proverbs 17:17 (ESV)