Schools partnering again with My Student in Need program

Whitefish Schools is once again teaming up with the My Student in Need program to help provide students in the Whitefish School District with needs they may have.

My Student in Need is a division of My Neighbor in Need, a non-profit organization. Whitefish began working with the organization last year.

“This is a wonderful program that will continue to be beneficial to our school community,” said Jackie Fuller, assistant principal at Whitefish Middle School.

The My Student in Need program is the creation of Great Falls resident, Dave Snuggs, and through a partnership with numerous school districts throughout Montana, allows for teachers to submit a request for help with a specific student need, such as things like school supplies, clothing, or lunch money. When a teacher believes they have a student in need, they contact their school liaison who completes a simple, online, need request form and submits it to the My Student in Need corporate office in Great Falls.

Once the request has been received by the staff, it is reviewed for content and once approved, posted live on www.mystudentinneed.org where anyone in the world can offer to help fulfill that need. Each need has a specific identification number and donors are asked to contact the corporate office so the staff can determine how best to fulfill that specific need. The My Student in Need staff then works directly with the school liaison to complete the fulfillment.

The only information provided to the staff at My Neighbor in Need is the student’s age, gender, grade, school, and the details of the need request. In most cases, only the teacher making the request knows the identity of the student.

In the Whitefish School District, the school liaisons are: Barb Mansfield (Whitefish High School, mansfieldb@whitefishschools.org), Lacey Eccles (Whitefish Middle School, ecclesl@whitefishschools.org), and Kelly Talsma (Muldown Elementary, talsmak@whitefishschools.org.)

Operational costs are underwritten by a sponsorship from Montana Farmers Union, our Partners in Dignity, and general donations. The founder does not receive any financial compensation.