Brightwend
$0
No trial, no card, no time limit
For your parent, plus one of you
Start freeFor your mom, dad or grandparent
One good outing a day, close to home.
Brightwend picks it for them every morning. They go, and you hear all about it:
“Guess where I went today? That café I've driven past for years.” the call you hope for, from Mom
- Free for them, for good
- Family · $139 for a year ›
Opens in the browser. Nothing to install, no card.
Most gifts for parents look back. This one gives them something to look forward to.
How Brightwend works
- 1They get an outing each morningOne real place nearby that's open that day, picked for how they get around and what they like. Free, with no time limit.
- 2One of you follows alongThey keep the day with a photo and a few words. You see it and send a reaction. Also free.
- 3Family brings everyone inThe rest of the family join and write back, and their year is printed as a hardcover book. This is the part you pay for.
Start free and see how it suits them. You can give the year whenever you like.
1They go out
Somewhere to go.
One good outing a day, close to home, picked for how they get around and what they love. A few from this week's list:
Walk the lake once and count the swans.
Lake Eola Park · OrlandoThe city describes a 0.9-mile sidewalk circling the lake as wheelchair accessible, and says the swan boats can take a wheelchair directly aboard.Photo: OrlandoThings.com · CC BY-SA 4.0
Find something in the ironwork nobody would notice, and photograph it.
Romare Bearden Park · CharlottePhoto: Fortibus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Walk the park built on top of a stormwater problem.
Historic Fourth Ward Park · AtlantaThe city describes paved paths, accessible restrooms and a step-free connection to the BeltLine Eastside Trail.Photo: Marc Merlin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Bring a small notebook and sketch one fern leaf to take home.
Hammock Park · Dunedin, Tampa BayThe City of Dunedin says Hammock Park is open daily from sunrise to sunset and has five miles of nature trails plus a Fern Trail Boardwalk.Photo: daveynin from United States · CC BY 2.0
Ride the carousel. You're allowed.
Pullen Park · RaleighThe city lists paved paths, accessible restrooms and parking; the carousel has a wheelchair-accessible platform.Photo: RadioFan · CC BY-SA 3.0
Walk one loop of the park and count how many of the oaks were planted on purpose.
Hampton Park · CharlestonThe city describes a paved one-mile loop road through the park with accessible parking and restrooms.Photo: ProfReader · Public domain
Sit by the fountain until somebody plays something.
Forsyth Park · SavannahThe city lists paved sidewalks throughout, accessible parking around the perimeter, accessible restrooms near the visitor centre, and a ramp to the stage.Photo: Kmf164 · CC BY-SA 2.5Ask whether your library does museum passes. A lot of them do and almost nobody uses them.
Near home · your library's front desk
Free for good. The daily outing, plus one of you following along. No trial, no card, no time limit.
If your family sent you this
- It's free for you, for good. You're never asked to pay.
- Nothing to install. It opens in your phone's browser.
- One suggestion each morning, and "Not today" is always fine.
- You choose who sees your days.
2You hear about it
Someone to tell.
They keep the day with a photo, a few words, sometimes their voice, and share it. You see it the same day and can cheer them on.
- One of you follows along free
- Everyone else, with Family
Mom's day outAngel Oak Park, Johns Island
❤️ Love this😊 Made my day👏 Way to go
3Go together
Good days, together.
With Brightwend Family
Pick the place, go along, and the day ends up in their book.
Pick the place.Choose an outing for them from our list and add a note. It waits for a day the place is open.
Go along.Plan it for a day you're both free, and offer the ride if you like.
It goes in their book.They take the photo and keep the day. Your note prints right beside it in their Year of Good Days.
4It adds up
At the end of the year, their days come home in a book.
Included with Family
A hardcover of every day they shared: their photos and words, the place on a map, and your notes beside them. Mailed to you, so you can hand it over yourself.
Up to 2 photos a day, with their note. Only the days they choose to share go in the book.
- In their own words. No counts of days done or missed.
- A map of their year. Every place, pinned, with who picked it.
- Their voice, too. Scan the code beside a day to hear the voice note they kept.
Free for your parent. Add Family so everyone can join in.
Brightwend Family
$139 for a year
Holiday launch price through Jan 31. $179 from February 1.
One payment. Never renews. About 38¢ a day.
Everything in Free, plus:
Stay close
- Everyone follows along and writes back
- A heads-up if they've been quiet in the app for a few days (they turn it on and choose how many)*
- A Sunday family digest
Plan together
- Pick places for them, any day
- Plan outings, even a surprise
Keep the year
- A map of every place
- A welcome kit in the mail
- Their year, in a hardcover book
Outside our 32 areas, Family covers following along, the Sunday digest, check-in heads-ups and the book. Picking places, planned outings and the map need one of our areas.
Full refund within 14 days, or 30 if the gift code is unused.
Already on Free? Family is added to the same account. Nothing they've kept is lost.
Want to try it first? Start free. Free has no time limit.
Not sure they'll take to it?
Start them on Free today and give Family later: a gift's year only starts once the code is used, and codes don't expire. If they've shared fewer than 20 days by the end of their year, we'll ask you whether to print the book then or keep adding and print later.
Compare Free and Family, feature by feature
| Feature | Free$0for good | Family$139for a year (holiday launch price; $179 from Feb 1), one paymentfor a year, one payment |
|---|---|---|
| For your parent | ||
| One outing each morning, at a real place open that day | Included | Included |
| The address and a map for every place | Included | Included |
| Keep days with photos, notes and voice notes | Included | Included |
| Big text and a hearing mode | Included | Included |
| For the family | ||
| Family members following along | 1 | Everyone |
| Shared days you can look back on | Last 7 days | Every day |
| See the days they share and send a reaction | Included | Included |
| Write back to their days | Not included | Included |
| A heads-up if they've been quiet in the app for a few days* | Not included | Included |
| Pick a place for them, with a note, even for a set date | Not included | Included |
| Plan an outing together, or a surprise day | Not included | Included |
| A map of everywhere they've been | Not included | Included |
| A Sunday family digest email | Not included | Included |
| Mailed to you | ||
| Welcome kit | Not included | Included |
| Their Year of Good Days hardcover book | Not included | Included |
Your parent is never asked to pay, and never sees a price in the app. When the year ends, they keep everything they've shared, free.
*Check-in heads-ups are something your parent turns on, and they choose after how many quiet days. They aren't an emergency or safety service, and Brightwend never tracks location.
Give a year of good days.
A reason to go every day, the stories that come with it, and a book of it all at the end.
$139 holiday launch price, one payment for a year; it never renews. $179 from February 1.One payment for a year of Brightwend Family; it never renews. The welcome kit comes to you to wrap. Order by Dec 15 for the kit to arrive by Christmas. The holiday price ends Jan 31.
Hard of hearing? Voice notes are written out, and the film has captions.
Read the film as text
- A man in a red beanie smiles at his phone. His morning note reads “A walk through the botanical garden.” Narration: “Every morning, a little note arrives. One good thing to do today, close to home.”
- A couple walks through a glass garden; a woman reads in a library. “Some days it's a walk through the gardens. Some days, an hour with a good book.”
- A lake under a rainbow, a swan, a busy market. “An afternoon by the lake. A local gem they've always meant to try.”
- A Westie trots along; friends laugh together on yoga mats. “Sometimes a new friend tags along. Sometimes, old friends.”
- A quiet bench by the water. “Each one is easy to say yes to.”
- A man takes a selfie; a woman laughs on the phone. “Then comes the best part: the story they get to tell. Maybe it's a photo from the garden, or a call that starts with, ‘Guess where I went today?’”
- “Because every day should have something in it worth telling.”
- A couple looks at a phone together. “Most gifts for parents look back. This one gives them something to look forward to. It starts with a welcome kit, and ends with a book of their good days.”
- End card with the welcome kit and the Year of Good Days book. “Brightwend. One good outing a day, close to home. Give someone you love a year of good days.” Welcome kit and book included · Order by Dec 15.
What we promise.
There are no points, badges, streaks or leaderboards, and we never dress up an ad as a suggestion.
Where we are: four states to start.
North Carolina
Charlotte · Raleigh, Durham & Cary · Greensboro & Winston-Salem · Wilmington · Asheville · Fayetteville
South Carolina
Charleston · Columbia · Greenville & Spartanburg · Myrtle Beach & the Grand Strand · Hilton Head & Beaufort · Rock Hill & York County
Georgia
Atlanta · Savannah · Augusta & Aiken · Athens & Lake Oconee · Macon · Golden Isles · North Georgia mountains
Florida
Sarasota & Bradenton · Tampa & St. Petersburg · Orlando · Jacksonville · Miami & Fort Lauderdale · Pensacola & Destin · Tallahassee · Gainesville · The Villages & Ocala · Daytona & Palm Coast · Space Coast · Fort Myers, Cape Coral & Naples · Palm Beach & the Treasure Coast
Outside our 32 areas: everyday ideas like the library, a café you've never tried or a walk near home, but no named places yet.
Not on the list? Tell us the town
The things families ask us.
Does my parent ever pay for anything?
No. The daily outing, and one of you following along, are free for good, with no trial and no time limit. Your parent is never asked to pay or shown a price. Brightwend Family is optional, paid for by family or given as a gift. If they'd like Family for themselves, they can start it in the app.
Does it renew?
No. Nothing renews or is charged again. One payment covers a year of Brightwend Family, and you can buy another year when this one ends.
Do they have to go?
Never. It's only ever a suggestion. Only go if you're up to it today. "Not today" is always a fine answer.
Does my parent need to download an app?
No, and neither do you. Brightwend works in the web browser on any phone, tablet or computer, and store apps are coming. Each morning their suggestion is waiting in the app, and by email if they'd like (at 7:30, or a time they choose). Your parent can text you a link to join. You can also set it up for them and send them one link to start. You sign in with Google, Apple or your email.
Does it work if they use a wheelchair?
Yes. Choose "I use a wheelchair or scooter" when you set it up, and suggestions favor places that describe step-free access. We show each place's own access notes; we never describe access in our own words.
Can I set it up if I live far away?
Yes. When you buy the gift, choose "Send it to them" and we email it to them on the day you pick, with your note. The welcome kit comes to you. They type the code in at brightwend.com/redeem or in the app, and you can walk them through it on a call.
Is there a money-back guarantee?
Yes. Full refund within 14 days of purchase, no questions asked, or within 30 days if the gift code hasn’t been used. You keep the welcome kit.
Every day should have something in it worth telling.
Brightwend gives them a reason to go. Tomorrow morning, there'll be one good thing waiting.
Opens in the browser. Nothing to install, no card.