We are all one heartbreak, one illness, one job loss, one natural disaster, one family loss, one mental health disorder, one substance use disorder away from needing our community’s support.
SOLIDARITY, NOT CHARITY, means that we dig in and help each other. We do so from a place of understanding:
We live in this world together.
We exist within a broken system that keeps people without basic resources and a clear path forward.
SOLIDARITY, NOT CHARITY, means that we acknowledge how privilege breeds opportunity and that those experiencing generational systemic poverty go without basic necessities no matter how hard they try. It means that those of us who can give more should, not because we are superior or amazing or extra kind or noble or moral, but because the system that keeps millions of children hungry and millions of people homeless and millions of people suffering from abuse or mental health disorders demands more of us.
SOLIDARITY, NOT CHARITY, means that we genuinely appreciate every single individual effort, large or small. We thank people for helping, but we also expect their help. It means we raise the bar: we ask for the best for those who have very little. We focus on the needs of people and their stories of resilience, and not on the person who donated. We center the needs of the community while using posts and storytelling to inform others of the reality that so many face unnecessarily.
It’s okay to feel good about being a part of Maine Needs. It’s okay to make money. It’s okay to feel proud of playing a role in creating a more just community. But this isn’t about charity; it’s about mutual aid and mutual respect.
EVERYONE CAN HELP: From our beginnings in 2019, we’ve seen people from all walks of life, with various views and various experiences, dig in and help. EVERYONE is invited to participate any way they can. Some donate money, some volunteer their time, some donate gently used things, some buy our top needs, some give of their experience and skills, some rally their school, church or work to make kits. So many caseworkers, teachers, nurses and community organizers make sure these items reach those who need them most. We’ve had photographers fundraise with a mini photoshoot or by selling a print, bakers make cookies to sell, ceramicists sell pottery, restaurants donate gift cards, hair stylists give us their tips, musicians put on concerts, runners contribute by mile, attorneys donate their time to register Maine Needs as a non-profit, graphic designers help us with the website, a handy man build shelves and lacquer our desk. Everyone can help.
People operate as if they have a place at the table because they do. We value this organic collaboration--it fuels and drives Maine Needs as an approachable grassroots social media–run non-profit.
THE SPIRIT OF MAINE NEEDS
There’s a spirit and energy to Maine Needs, and it’s nice that people want to keep coming back. What is that spirit? Is it that we all believe the world can be better? Is it that we want to be a part of something in motion, moving us forward, together? Is it seeing packages delivered? Seeing beautifully sorted, labeled donations? Is it being able to fulfill requests as they come in? Is it hearing what the caseworkers say? Is it simply organizing? Why are we all so drawn to be there? How do we keep that alive?
Maine Needs relies on volunteers, and we like that every volunteer has something different to offer. We value the simplicity of those who want to volunteer showing up and those who want to donate donating. We don’t want people to give because they feel like they have to. We don’t want people volunteering out of a sense of duty.
WE ELEVATE THE NEEDS OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
We exist as a nonprofit to fill the gaping holes in a safety net that neglects the basic human needs and struggles of many. We are here to support schools, homeless shelters, domestic violence resources, sober living homes, low-income preschools, and other community resources that people rely on all over Maine. We share their needs, their efforts, their fundraisers. In particular, we want to highlight and support organizations that lift up people who have been marginalized by society and call attention to those organizations that may not have the network that Maine Needs has.
RESPOND TO FEAR WITH LOVE
There are a lot of Mainers who are afraid of what it means to have people from other countries coming in by the hundreds to seek asylum in our state. They may use reactive, hateful language to express defensiveness that stems from their fear of the unknown. Many feel personally frustrated with a system that is failing their own family and genuinely don’t understand why immigrants are a priority right now.
Maine Needs advocates that we all do our best to help quell those fears that may look like hate.
Here’s why - if we don’t help to change the narrative, if we don’t bridge the gap, if we don’t make sense of another stranger’s fear and give them information to ease those concerns, these asylum seeking families will be the target of that anger, that hate, that frustration.
ACT INCLUSIVELY
Helping someone is not exclusive to any race, religion, sexual orientation or income. Maine Needs is about being human, offering humane solutions, and continuing to inspire others to do the same.
Want to learn more?