Cynthia Delgado was broke, unemployed and didn’t have a car — but she was determined.
With no money for a bus pass, the 50-something woman decided she had to walk to where she needed to go; sometimes 20 or 30 blocks to pick up or drop off a job application. It wasn’t so bad in the summer, but as summer transitioned into fall and the daytime highs plummeted from the upper 70s to below freezing, walking two or three miles each way got harder to do.
By late November, Delgado still didn’t have a full-time job. It was getting harder and harder to make the hours-long journeys necessary to change her fortunes.
“I walked a lot,” she said matter-of-factly. “When I’d show up for a job interview, I was already exhausted.”
Finally Delgado turned to the My Neighbor in Need for a helping hand. The Great Falls based social networking program found a donor willing to buy a bus pass for Delgado. That small act of compassion has made a world of difference in her life.
“They were able to help me with the bus fares so I could get to job interviews, to get pick up applications on the other side of town,” Delgado said. I finally landed a job in December, so I’m working full time now. I love my job.”
Hers is only one of thousands of lives that have been made better over the past three years by the internet based charitable organization.
Havre, MT: www.myneighborinneed.org an award winning idea that provides help to those in need through anonymous giving, will open its doors on Tuesday, March 24, 2015. My Neighbor in Need is a 24-hour “Wish List” where a neighbor in need can ask for help with a specific need. Their need is verified and if approved, is posted live on the website www.myneighborinneed.org – where anyone in the world can offer to fulfill that need. The Neighbor in Need and the Donor never ever meet.
“The past five-weeks has been a wonderful journey as we prepare to launch the project in Havre,” said Dave Snuggs, founder and president. “Our original expansion plan was to deliver the project to Helena in the spring of this year, however for over a year, my office has received calls from people in Havre asking when My Neighbor in Need would arrive. The demand for this service was overwhelming so we decided to launch it in Havre now and delay the launch in Helena until the fall.”
Local Resident and Community Volunteer is Hired as the Project Services Director for My Neighbor in Need – Havre
Longtime resident and Community Volunteer Heather Adkins has been hired as the Project Services Director for My Neighbor in Need – Havre. www.myneighborinneed was created by Great Falls resident, Dave Snuggs and developed by Tom Penwell of Tom’s Web Designs. The project allows for anyone to ask for help with a specific need, in a specific city/area whether the need is for themselves or for someone else in their community and allows for anyone in the world to help fulfill that need in a private nurturing setting.
“This is a great day! I am thrilled to have Heather as the person leading the charge in Havre.” Snuggs said. “I can teach anyone the computer system, our procedures and how we do what we do… but what I cannot teach someone is how to be passionate, how to be kind and have a caring spirit. Either you have it or you don’t and Heather most certainly does. She gets what we do but more importantly, she gets why we do it.”
A free website that has helped over 4,000 people in Cascade County is expanding to the Hi-Line
Question….. How can someone ask for help in a private, dignified way and receive help from the community in that same manner? The answer is a unique website that was created by Great Falls resident, Dave Snuggs. www.myneighborinneed.org is the fulfillment of an idea that first came about back in the summer of 2001. Now just before celebrating their third-year anniversary, Snuggs is once again expanding the website’s reach of Hope.
“I am excited to announce that thanks to efforts of a dedicated group of volunteers, the city of Havre will have its very own My Neighbor in Need project. It is hard to imagine that what started out as a simple idea has now grown into such a powerful movement. With the expansion to Havre, we now offer service to 40 cities in Montana and Wisconsin. The websites and the web-based system connect those who have a need with those who wish to fulfill that need, all in a private, dignified and nurturing way. This service is a free and is available to anyone living in the Havre city limits who has a need and/or anyone in the world who wishes to help a neighbor in need by fulfilling a need,” Snuggs said.
www.myneighborinneed, developed by Tom Penwell of Tom’s Web Designs, allows for anyone to ask for help with a specific need, in a specific city/area whether the need is for themselves or for someone else in their community by simply going to the website and completing the Request a Need form and clicking submit. If a person does not have access to the website to complete the form, they may call (406) 301-3919 and the form can be completed over the phone. In addition, the Request for a Need form can mailed to: My Neighbor in Need – 419 6th Ave Havre, MT 59501. In your written request please provide contact information including a description of the need.
My Student In Need has now begun expansion plans, currently to the Choteau Public School System. The website has been re-organized to allow for our future expansion plans and also a handy new feature for the teachers/school admin that will ensure they are using the correct request form for their district.
Congratulations to My Neighbor in Need on the new headquarters and thrift store location downtown in Times Square, 525 Central Ave.
Dave Snuggs has done a phenomenal job creating a new way of making a community a better place for all of us to live. Snuggs has done this by uncovering two aspects that exist in a community. First, he has found or created a new base of donors in the community. These are all of the people who want to help but are not sure just how to do it, or they want to be sure their help is going to someone truly in need.
Then Snuggs found a way to relieve the need of those lost citizens who need help but don’t know how to go about it, or maybe they just didn’t fit into the existing needs system.
My Neighbor in Need, your local GOOD DEED DOER organization has fulfilled over 1,400 need requests in just our first 17-months of operation! In June of 2013, My Neighbor in Need reinvented the world of retail by launching the most unique Thrift Store concept ever, “Give What You Can.”
The “Give What You Can” Community Thrift Store originally opened inside the basement of the Roger’s Jeweler’s building. In just six-months, the outpouring of support was so large we needed a bigger location, and we found the perfect place! Beginning on December 6, 2013 all for divisions of My Neighbor in Need will be housed under one roof. My Neighbor in Need, My Student in Need, The Pet- Food Pantry and the “Give What You Can” Community Thrift Store will be housed all under one roof at 525 Central Ave – inside Times Square – Downtown Great Falls, Montana!
The “Give What You Can” Community Thrift Store features quality, used appliances, furniture and housewares. Every item has a “Give What You Can” minimum price however since the minimum price is extremely low, (washing machines starting at $30) the buyer, if he/she has the capacity to pay more, they may opt to “Give What They Can.” All of the net proceeds that My Neighbor in Need receives from the Thrift Store will go to help fulfill need requests received through www.myneighborinneed.org.
www.myneighborinneed.org, developed by Tom Penwell of Tom’s Web Designs, allows for anyone to ask for help with a specific need whether the need is for themselves or for someone else in their community by simply going to the website and completing the Request a Need form and clicking submit. If a person does not have access to the website to complete the form, they may call 406-453-HELP (4357) and the form can be completed over the phone. In addition, the Request for a Need form can mailed to P.O. Box 1788 Great Falls, MT 59403.
Anyone wishing to make cash donations to this project are encouraged to send your contribution to:
My Neighbor In Need
525 Central Ave
Great Falls, MT 59401
You may also make a donation on line through our Pay-pal account. The link is located on the Home Page of this website. Thank you.
Please make your contribution payable to My Neighbor in Need. Your donation is tax deductible as permitted by law. My Neighbor in Need is a tax exempt, 501c3 non-profit organization.
My Neighbor in Need just celebrated their one year anniversary last month. Today they are celebrating their one thousandth need fulfillment, which is a milestone they never thought they’d reach so quickly.
