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Basic Model Team—A Support Team focused on caring for one or two Support Team Friends who have multiple needs (practical, emotional, spiritual).

Beginning—A step in a team's development (Beginning, Building, Caring, Connecting, and Sustaining) that includes Discovery of who needs care, who wants to care, and the Team Approach. This step includes discovering what people love to do for others, or what gives them energy when they do it for others.

Building -- A step in a team's development (Beginning, Building, Caring, Connecting, and Sustaining) that prepares Team Members to work together to share the care through an orientation.

Caring -- A step in a team's development (Beginning, Building, Caring, Connecting, and Sustaining) that refers to the team's primary mission. Caring is usually coordinated through a monthly 59-minute meeting to Communicate, Educate, and Coordinate.

Coach (Support Team)—a volunteer giving guidance to the development of a Support Team; a resource person for the Support Team. The coach is usually not a member of the team.

Communicate -- A step in a monthly Team Meeting that refers to Team Members sharing feelings and experiences with one another related to the team's work together.

Community Initiative Team—a Support Team for Support Team development in a community (formerly known as a Leadership Team). A group of persons representing congregations or organizations, who invite, host, fund, and coordinate a Support Team Initiative.

Connecting—a step in a team's development (Beginning, Building, Caring, Connecting, and Sustaining) that involves a Connecting Visit with a potential Friend to set clear expectations for everyone involved.

Coordinate —the last step in a Team's Monthly Meeting (Communicate, Educate, Coordinate) that determines what the Team Members will be doing for the coming month. Ideally, this step takes the last ten to fifteen minutes of the meeting.

Developing—the third step of a Support Team Initiative (Preparing, Training, Developing, and Supporting) and is the primary mission of an Initiative. The process includes applying what was learned in a Support Team Development Training in order to start, train, and sustain teams where people live, work, or worship.

Discovery Event – part of the Beginning process where persons discover who needs care, who wants to care, and helps persons understand the team approach. A Discovery Event can be held with existing groups, called-together groups, or through one-on-one conversations.

Educate—A step in a Team's Monthly Meeting that is an informal way of learning or discussing information that empowers or equips the team to do its mission more effectively.

Facility Model Team—a Support Team focused on meeting some of the needs of some of the persons in one place (in-patient hospice, nursing home, etc.).

Fifty-Nine Minute Meeting -- a Team's commitment to start on time and end on time while going through the three steps of Communicate, Educate, and Coordinate. Team Meetings are usually held monthly and should be the most efficient meeting someone has ever attended.

Friend (Support Team)—the individual, family, or facility receiving care from a Support Team.

Leader (Support Team)—a member of the Support Team who loves to organize and delegate! A Support Team Member responsible for leading Team Meetings and coordinating the schedule of care provided by Team Members.

Mission Model Team--a Support Team serving multiple Friends with a particular need (meals, transportation, etc.).

Orientation--an initial training required of all Support Team Members to prepare them to serve on a Support Team. An orientation is usually three hours or less and includes: How to Offer Emotional and Spiritual Support, Understanding the Team Approach, and How to Set Boundaries and Limits as a Team Member and as a Team.

Preparation Workshop—a two-hour workshop for a community to be introduced to the team approach, how Support Teams can be used in a setting, and who should come to a Support Team Development Training.

Preparing—the first step in a Community Support Team Initiative (Preparing, Training, Developing, and Supporting) that forms a Community Team Initiative Team, secures the funding for an Initiative, and invites persons to a Preparation Workshop.

Preventive Educational Model Team—a Support Team that focuses on teaching information in creative ways in a community to prevent a certain illness, or to promote good health in a community.

Support Conference Call—a phone call for up to thirty persons at a time to share experiences, ask questions, and learn from one another in the months following a Support Team Development Training.

Support Team Development Training—a two-day training that teaches persons how to be confident and competent to start, train, and sustain teams in their congregation, organization, or community (formerly known as Support Team Leadership Training).

Support Team Initiative—a one-year action plan to develop Support Teams in a community to care for persons with health concerns and other special needs.

Support Team Network—a training and resource center for the development of volunteer Support Teams for persons with health concerns or other special needs. The Support Team Network is based at UAB (The University of Alabama at Birmingham), and also has an office in Chapel Hill, NC.

Support Team—a group of volunteers who provide practical, emotional, and/or spiritual support to persons with health concerns or other special needs.

Supporting—generally refers to the fourth step in a Community Support Team Initiative: Preparing, Training, Developing, and Supporting.

Supporting Workshop—a two-hour workshop usually held 1-3 months after a Support Team Development Training for participants to come back together, share experiences, and to expand the Community Initiative Team to be a “Support Team for the Support Teams” on a local level.

Sustaining—the fifth component of an individual Support Team’s development that refers to the role of the Leader, Coach, and Community Initiative Team. Sustaining involves being proactive to keep the team healthy and growing.

Team Approach—Do what you can, when you can, in a coordinated way, with a built-in support system.

Training—the second step of a Community Support Team Initiative (Preparing, Training, Developing, and Supporting) that includes a two-day instruction on how to develop Support Teams. Training is also referred to as Support Team Development Training.