Maine Needs

Maine Needs organically grew out of people in the community coming together on social media to organize and deliver household donations to help those facing financial hardship. Examples of people helped by Maine Needs are homeless individuals setting up a new place to live, domestic abuse survivors, low-income families, and others that are essentially starting their lives over from scratch. Maine Needs is overseen by a volunteer board of directors. Maine Needs activities are carried out by dozens of volunteers, with hundreds in the community donating to Maine Needs to help others. Many donations are coordinated online through social media. Maine Needs has set up donation shopping facilities for those in need by utilizing spare space from a local nonprofit and by coordinating to deliver needed items to existing community centers (e.g., churches or food pantries), school supply closets for children in need, and similar spaces where those facing financial hardship can get household items, warm coats, etc. By coordinating with existing community resources, Maine Needs helps fill in the gaps to serve the community. For example, if a school needs warm children's coats and mittens in a certain sizes for low-income children coming to school without appropriate clothing for Maine winters, Maine Needs can help coordinate donations to meet that need. Maine Needs is fundraising to have its own dedicated space where individuals and families facing financial hardship could 'shop' (without charge) for material necessities up to 3 times per year by appointment. With a more permanent space, Maine Needs would also be able to store donations year round so that they could be distributed to other organizations at appropriate times of the year--including to schools, churches, food pantries, etc. Virtually 100% of Maine Need's time is devoted to its primary activity of coordinating donations and delivering material necessities to individuals and families facing financial hardship in Maine.