Many people are faced with the prospect of wanting to have a child and not being able, due to infertility issues. The struggle can be an extremely emotional one, that is often not shared with friends and family — it’s hard to explain or articulate the feelings. Having a person to talk to that can completely understand what you are going through can make a huge difference. Elfster was pleased to find a group of women that are offering each other support through gift exchanges, where the gifts exchanged become meaningful reminders for the members.
The group has all connected on an infertility resource message board. After getting to know each other on the main forum, they spun off and created their own subset of about 75 members, all of whom have been struggling with conception for a long time.
As a way to encourage each other they began hosting gift exchanges over the past several years. The most recent exchange was a lucky sock or flip flop exchange. The purpose of this exchange was to send footwear that the recipient could use to wear to their treatments. According to the exchange organizer, Denise, “ Infertility can be a lonely road, so it is nice to go to appointments with a reminder of our supportive group.”
Since the women have been using Elfster for more than a year to host different exchanges, they all have answered different questions, and added items to their wishlists. According to Denise, “We love the wish lists and the ability to ask questions anonymously. We only find out who our Elf is when we receive our packages. Having it remain a surprise is a great perk of Elfster. I love that previous questions are still available to view. I learn a lots about treats my draw would like by reading their wish lists and previous Q&A’s.”
The group is made up of ladies from all across the country, and they plan to continue hosting exchanges about every three months. Elfster is happy to know that using our site allows the group to stay connected. “We all love to participate but without Elfster, I’m not sure how many we would do. Organizing would be quite a chore without the wonderful service you offer!”, said Denise
We are glad to be part of a group that is committed to helping each other out through trying times. The idea that no one is in this struggle alone provides tremendous comfort to the members as they face these challenges. Sharing your stories, advice, friendship and gifts is a wonderful way of finding the silver lining. We would love to hear the story of your family or community and how you are using Elfster, too. You can reach us via Facebook here, or Tweet us @elfster.
photo credit: knitting iris, lmaekelley
