My Neighbor In Need and Saint Vincent De Paul form Strategic Alliance to Help More People – Faster
www.myneighborineed.org a revolutionary and proprietary website that provides local citizens a way to ask for help from their community and a way for the community to give back has formed a strategic alliance with Saint Vincent De Paul, Great Falls.Created by Great Falls resident, Dave Snuggs, and launched on March 20, 2012, My Neighbor in Need has completed over 9,900 need fulfillments. “Although we are very close to completing 10,000 need fulfillments, the requests for help show no signs of slowing down,” Snuggs said. “When someone is need, time is critical. We needed to create a new system that would Help More People, Faster so we asked ourselves what other social service organization best mirrors our mission and beliefs while having the capacity to Help More People – Faster. The answer was easy…. Saint Vincent De Paul.”
The strategic alliance will allow both organizations to continue to operate independently, each focused on their own specific mission and goals, however Saint Vincent De Paul will help to fulfill need requests submitted directly by My Neighbor in Need.
Effective October 9, when My Neighbor in Need has a verified and approved need request for a bed, couch or other piece of furniture or equipment, they will immediately call Saint Vincent De Paul and if that item is available, the neighbor in need will receive a voucher for that specific item. The item will be held for that person at Saint Vincent De Paul. “The neighbor in need could literally leave our office with a voucher for a bed, drive to Saint Vincent De Paul and pick-up their bed and be off the cold floor that same day, Snuggs said. “By eliminating the hours, we would spend each day driving, we now can spend that time vetting more need requests and together, we (My Neighbor in Need and Saint Vincent De Paul) can Help More People – Faster!”
If at any time the needed item is not available at Saint Vincent De Paul, or if it is a financial need request such as assistance with purchasing a bus pass, car repair, fuel-only gift card, etc., then the need request would be posted on www.myneighborinneed.org in hopes that an anonymous donor would contact My Neighbor in Need and offer to help fulfill that need.
My Neighbor in Need, My Student in Need, the Community Coat Closet and the Free Pet Food Pantry will continue to operate inside Times Square; however with the launch of the new strategic alliance, the thrift store will be closed. “Having Saint Vincent De Paul help us to fulfill non-financial needs means we can eliminate the costs associated with operating a thrift store and use that money to Help More People – Faster.”
My Neighbor in Need is at 525 Central Ave #M5A Great Falls, MT 59401. (406) 750-2542. Saint Vincent De Paul is located at 426 Central Ave West, Great Falls, MT 59404. (406) 761-0111. Both organizations are 501c3, tax exempt, non-profit organizations.