In April, I had the pleasure of meeting Becky Palmer, a young military spouse who won a "Year of Care" from Care.com at an Operation Shower event attended by the First Lady Michelle Obama. Operation Shower is an organization that celebrates and honors military families by throwing baby showers to expecting moms. Becky told me how her husband Joseph lost his leg in Afghanistan last year when her first child was not yet two.  When I met her in her last trimester of her second pregnancy, she spoke, like any young mother, with excitement and hope about her growing family. I found myself with tears in my eyes.

Becky's story is one among many I hear every day, whether I'm in a business meeting, traveling on a plane, or meeting a mother at the grocery store.  Personal stories of how people are working, raising children, dealing with economic or physical hardships are what ground me, inspire me, and make me aware of how what we’re doing at Care.com impacts lives. 

At our Care@Work conference, I had the chance to meet Jake Barton, whose company, Local Projects, is the lead designer for the 9/11 Memorial Museum.  Jake is in the business of storytelling, using personal narratives to bring static museums to life.

Jake stands at the forefront of the shift in museum presentation.  You might recall museums as full of boring dioramas and static images. If, however, you've spent time in a museum recently, you've probably found yourself more engaged.  It's likely that you've listened to a personal oral history.  Museum staff may even have encouraged you to share your own experience.  Maybe you've wondered why.

It's because stories have power.  They preserve history.  They entertain us.  And they even put our children to sleep. Stories can also start companies. Care.com began with my story as a young mother struggling to find care for my aging father and two sons. As I continued to share my story, I realized that many were in the same position and was inspired to found this company. My story is at the heart of Care.com. 

I also know that every person who has visited Care.com has their own story:

• A father balancing care for an elderly parent and his kids
• New parents, who are just discovering the joys of their first born
• A daughter who has come home from spending time with dad and realizes that he is going to need more help
• Parents of a child with cerebral palsy, who are looking for a caregiver who “gets it”

We want to hear your story and give you a platform to tell it right on Care.com!

Send us your story in 500 or fewer words, and you'll be entered to win an opportunity as a guest blogger on Care.com for one month!  

To enter, tell us about yourself including things like your family, your care strategy (are you a care provider or a family needing care?), the highs and lows of a typical day, and your approach to getting through daily hurdles. Also include some examples of blog topics you would enjoy writing. E-mail your story to carestory@​care.com by 7:00 am EST on Tuesday, June 28, 2011. Our panel of Care.com judges will select one entry to be a guest blogger on Care.com. Please read our Official Contest Rules.

The winner will also receive $250 and a one-year membership to Care.com.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Contest Rules

The Care.com Guest Blogger Contest 2011 Theme: Tell Us Your Story

1. Contest Description. The Care.com Guest Blogger Contest (the "Contest") is designed to encourage blog readers ("Entrant(s)") to use their creativity to write their own blog posts. Judges will choose the winning entries and prizes will be awarded in accordance with these Official Rules.
2. Sponsor. The Contest is sponsored by Care.com, Inc. ("Care.com"), a Delaware corporation with principal place of business at 201 Jones Road, Suite 500, Waltham 02451 USA.
3. Binding Agreement. In order to enter the Contest, you must agree to these Official Rules ("Rules"). Because these Rules form a legally binding agreement with respect to this Contest, please read them carefully. If you do not agree to the Rules, you are not eligible to participate in the Contest or to win any of the prizes. You agree that registration for this Contest and/or a submission of an entry in the Contest constitutes your agreement to these Rules.
4. Eligibility. The Contest is open to residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are age 18 or older. Employees, interns, contractors, and official office-holders, as well as their immediate families, of Care.com are not eligible to participate. This Contest is void where prohibited.
5. Contest Period. The contest begins at 7:00 am Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 and ends at 7:00 am EST on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 (the “Entry Period”).
6. How To Enter. To enter, submit a blog entry of 500 or fewer words about yourself including information about your family, your care strategy, whether you are a care provider or a family needing care, the highs and lows of a typical day, and your approach to getting through daily hurdles to carestory@care.com during the Entry Period. Also include examples of blog topics you would enjoy writing. Include your full name, home address and email address at the end of your blog.  Care.com reserves the sole right to reject any entry that it finds inappropriate or offensive. You may submit as many entries as you wish during the Entry Period.

Any submission not meeting the aforementioned criteria will be disqualified. Care.com accepts no responsibility for submissions lost, delayed, damaged, defaced, or mislaid, howsoever caused.

1. Conduct. By entering the Contest, you agree to comply with and be bound by the Rules. Failure to comply with these Rules may result in your disqualification from the Contest. You further agree to comply with and be bound by the decisions of the judges, which are final and binding in all respects. Care.com reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any Entrant it finds to be: (1) tampering or attempting to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the Contest; (2) violating the Rules; (3) violating the terms of service, conditions of use or general rules or guidelines of any Care.com property or service; (4) acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person; or (5) failure to provide documentation verifying contest eligibility. Any false information provided within the context of the Contest by any Entrant concerning identity, postal address, ownership of rights or non-compliance with the Rules may result in the immediate disqualification of an Entrant from the Contest. Care.com further reserves the right to disqualify any entry that it believes in its sole and unfettered discretion, infringes upon any third party right, violates any law or otherwise does not comply with these Rules. ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY PROPERTY OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, CARE.COM RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
2. Judging and Selection of Winners. Entries will be judged by Care.com management and employees based on the following judging criteria: 

1. 1. Writing merit,
   2. Skill,
   3. Tone,
   4. Relevancy of topic,
   5. Creativity,
   6. Uniqueness,
   7. Value to Care.com members,
   8. Communication of the contest theme, and
   9. Whether the submission adheres to these Rules.

Decisions of the judges are final and binding. In the event there are not any eligible entries, the prize will not be awarded. If a winner is unwilling or unable for whatever reason to accept his or her prize, then Care.com reserves the right to award the prize to another Entrant. On or about Tuesday, July 12, 2011, one winner will be selected from all eligible entries received by Care.com during the Entry Period. The winning entrant will be contacted via the email address used for entry submission. The entrant will have one week to claim his or her prize and provide the information required by Care.com to receive the prize. 

1. Prizes. The Care.com Guest Blogger Contest winner will receive a check for $250.00 and a one-year Premium membership to Care.com beginning in August 2011 and ending July 2012. The winner will also receive the opportunity to write four blog posts that will be posted on the Care.com site. The first two blog posts will be due to Care.com by 5:00 pm on July 26, 2011. The second two blog posts will be due to Care.com by 5:00 pm on August 9. Care.com reserves the sole right to edit and/or rewrite any blog post fully and unconditionally. Should any blog post be deemed by Care.com to be inappropriate or offensive, Care.com reserves the right to reject and refrain from posting or making public any post.There is no cash alternative and the prizes must be taken as offered. Care.com reserves the right to substitute prize(s) of an equivalent value should the Contest prizes become unavailable for any reason. The Premium membership prize has a retail value of $140 and the four blog post prize has an aggregate retail value of $1,000. Each blog post, including without limitation, all Contest blog posts, become the exclusive property of Care.com. The winner agrees that Care.com shall have the perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, and fully-transferable right to use, modify, display, reproduce, make derivative works of, and otherwise use winner’s blog posts for promotional purposes in any manner or media whether now or hereafter, all without further payment, consideration, attribution or consent.

10.  Media Activity: By participating in this Contest, you agree to participate in any media or promotional activity regarding the Contest. If you are a Winner, you agree that Care.com may use your name and likeness to administer and promote the Contest and to conduct media interviews and promotional events.  

11.  Privacy Notice. By participating in this Contest, you agree that Care.com can collect your personal information, and that if Care.com cannot collect the required data, you may not be eligible to participate in the Contest. Any personal information collected during the course of the Contest by Care.com will only be used for administering this Contest and for other purposes as outlined in these Rules.

12.  General Conditions. This Contest is governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. By participating in this Contest, you agree to be bound by the terms of these Rules and by Care.com’s decisions, which are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Contest. Return of any prize/prize notification may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner. Any potential winner who does not respond within five (5) business days of attempted first notification via the email address provided by the Entrant with his or her entry will forfeit his or her prize. Potential prize winners may be required to sign, notarize, and return an affidavit or declaration of eligibility, a liability/publicity release, an I.R.S. Form W-9, within three (3) business days and provide any additional information that may be required by Care.com. Failure to comply within this time period may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner. Care.com is not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of the offer, administration of the Contest or in the announcement of the prizes. Entrants certify that each blog post they submit, including without limitation all Contest blog posts, is original,  that they are the sole and exclusive owner and rights holder of the submitted submission, and that they have the right to submit the submission to Care.com for use by Care.com in accordance with the terms of these Rules. Each entrant agrees not to participate in the Contest in any manner that might: (i) infringe any third-party proprietary, intellectual property, industrial property, personal rights or other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or confidentiality obligation; or (2) otherwise violate applicable law in any countries in the world.

13.  No Recourse to Judicial or Other Procedures. To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, to seek injunctive relief, or to any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Contest are hereby excluded, and you expressly waive any and all such rights.

14.  LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY: TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU INDEMNIFY AND AGREE TO KEEP INDEMNIFIED CARE.COM AT ALL TIMES FROM AND AGAINST ANY LIABILITY, CLAIMS, DEMANDS, LOSSES, DAMAGES, COSTS AND EXPENSES RESULTING FROM ANY ACT, DEFAULT OR OMISSION BY YOU AND/OR A BREACH OF ANY WARRANTY BY YOU SET FORTH HEREIN. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU INDEMNIFY AND AGREE TO KEEP INDEMNIFIED CARE.COM AT ALL TIMES FROM AND AGAINST ANY LIABILITY, ACTIONS, CLAIMS, DEMANDS, LOSSES, DAMAGES, COSTS AND EXPENSES FOR OR IN RESPECT OF WHICH CARE.COM WILL OR MAY BECOME LIABLE BY REASON OF OR RELATED OR INCIDENTAL TO ANY ACT, DEFAULT OR OMISSION BY YOU UNDER THESE RULES INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION RESULTING FROM OR IN RELATION TO ANY BREACH, NON-OBSERVANCE, ACT OR OMISSION WHETHER NEGLIGENT OR OTHERWISE, PURSUANT TO THESE RULES BY YOU. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AGREE TO HOLD CARE.COM, ITS RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES AND ASSIGNS HARMLESS FOR ANY INJURY OR DAMAGE CAUSED OR CLAIMED TO BE CAUSED BY PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST AND/OR USE OR ACCEPTANCE OF ANY PRIZE WON.

15.  Third Parties. Care.com is not responsible for the policies, actions, or inactions of others that might prevent the Entrant from entering, participating, and/or claiming a prize in this Contest.

16.  Intellectual Property. By registering for the Contest and/or submitting an entry you agree explicitly that all components of your blog submissions, including without limitation, any Contest submissions, are indeed original creations. Any intellectual property infringement, misuse or plagarism of another’s work in any form or state will result in immediate disqualification and forfeiture of eligibility to receive all awards, recognition and prizes. You also agree to allow Care.com to make public statements regarding any disqualifications and any grounds for disqualification. You grant Care.com permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and publicly display your blog submissions for any purpose, including display on the Care.com website, without any attribution or compensation to you.

17.  Internet. Care.com is not responsible for electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission. Care.com is not responsible for theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of Contest materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind. Care.com is not responsible for inaccurate transmissions of or failure to display Contest materials on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or any combination thereof. If for any reason the Internet portion of the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Care.com reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest.

18.  Severability. If any provision(s) of these Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect.

19.  Winner List. For the name of the winner (available after August 1, 2011), send a self-addressed, stamped envelope, to be received by November 30, 2011, to: “Care.com Guest Blogger Contest 2011 Theme: Tell Us Your Story”, Care.com, Inc., 201 Jones Road, Suite 500, Waltham, MA 02451.

© Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Care.com and the Care.com logo are trademarks of Care.com Inc.

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