GREAT FALLS -

The My Student In Need organization received a big check on Tuesday from the proceeds generated through the "Mugs For Mittens" fundraising promotion.

The Mugs For Mittens promotion began on October 2nd.

Customers at Electric City Coffee in downtown Great Falls were encouraged to buy a custom coffee mug made by potter Jerry LeVeque, filled with coffee for a special price.

The proceeds from the sale of the mugs goes directly to My Student In Need so the non-profit organization could buy mittens and gloves for Great Falls students in need.

Heidi Reiste, Electric City Coffee owner, explained, "We have sold mugs made by Jerry and those sold out very quickly. Actually, we sold our last ones during the Christmas Stroll."

LeVeque said, "Becky Nelson, she's the driving force behind all of this, she's the one that came over to Great Falls Pottery. We talked a little bit and I decided it sounds like a worthwhile cause."

Dave Snuggs, My Student In Need Founder, appreciated the support: "Thanks to Electric City Coffee, Jerry LeVeque, Becky Nelson, and Allie Nelson, we're receiving over $2,100 dollars that will be used to purchase water-proof gloves for our students in need."

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Last year's Community Coat Drive collected more than 600 winter coats for kids in need when organizer Cyndi Baker said she was only hoping for 200.

"It was amazing," she said. "But they're gone."

Baker and other businesses are partnering with My Neighbor in Need's Student in Need program once again not just to provide coats, but other winter goods like boots, hats, gloves and snowpants in all sizes to outfit kids and keep them warm this winter.

"Lots of times we can have a coat on a kid within the day," said Kim Wombolt, executive director of My Neighbor in Need.

The goal is to get these coats and winter items distributed early enough this year that a child isn't caught in the cold without the right gear. Wombolt said she went out last spring and bought as many snowpants as she could get on clearance, but that only amounted to 30 or 40 pairs. They sell fast in the stores, she said.

Baker spearheaded the coat drive last year because she wanted to leave room for My Student in Need to fulfill higher-end and more specific needs. She knew the community could get behind an effort like this, but she didn't understand how much until she and other volunteers counted 615 coats.

"I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the community," Baker said.

Places to donate coats, hats, gloves, snowpants and boots:

Prairie Mountain Bank (both locations)

Scheels (Holiday Village Mall)

Claire's (Holiday Village Mall)

Ace Hardware (Northwest Bypass)

Big Bear Sports (Northwest Bypass)

1st Liberty Credit Union (all locations)

Airman Attic at Malmstrom Air Force Base

Harvest Springs Church (1001 36th Ave. N.E.)

First United Methodist Church (610 2nd Ave. N.)

GFPS administrative offices (1100 4th St. S.)

D.A. Davidson (8 3rd St. N.)

My Neighbor in Need store (525 Central Ave.)

Original Tribune Article

The second annual “Run for Who You Love” 5K fun run in memory of former Great Falls resident Stacy Frey Neild, which benefits My Student in Need, takes place Saturday, Sept. 26, starting at 10 a.m. in West Bank Park.

Neild was diagnosed with ALS in 2009 and passed away in 2013 at the age of 31. She worked in Australia as a distraction therapist, helping children cope with terminal illnesses. Last year’s run drew more than 75 people and raised $3,000 for a patient with Lyme disease.

The idea of the “Run for Who You Love,” according to Neild’s mother, Debi Frey, is to bring participants together in the name of friends or family who suffer from illness or disease, whether those loved ones are alive or have passed on. Neild’s longtime friend, Tawnya Gilchrist, spearheaded the event with help from Frey.

“We organized this to keep her memory alive and keep her spirit of giving going,” Frey said.

So far in 2015, Frey and Gilchrist have raised more than $8,500 of the run’s $10,000 goal. According to Frey, meeting that goal means helping more than 400 local students.

“Most of that is donations from people who have been impacted by (illness),” Glichrist said, but there was also a $4,000 lump sum donated anonymously.

Runners can register the day of the race or pre-register by searching “Run for Who You Love” at www.getfit.com. Preregistration is $25, same-day registration is $30, and registration includes a T-shirt while supplies last. Children 14 and younger can participate for free with a paid parent.

New this year is a memory wall where runners can place stickers with the reason for their run. Expanded kids’ activities make the day all about family.

“We selected My Student in Need because of Stacy’s love for children,” said Frey. “She always wanted to have children, and she didn’t get to.”

“We hope to make it annual and kind of expand on it every year,” Gilchrist said. “People need to voice and need to cope and need a healing atmosphere.”

Frey agrees.

“For me, this has been a healing process,” she said.

THE ESSENTIALS

What: Run for Who You Love

When: Saturday, Sept. 26 at 10 a.m.

Where: West Bank Park

Cost: $25 for pre-registration, $30 the day of the event

provided by The Great Falls Tribune

KRTV.com | Great Falls, Montana

GREAT FALLS -
The Great Falls-based "My Student In Need" program started taking requests ten days ago and has already fulfilled needs for six students as the new school year gets underway.

The program is now in its third year, and helps to provide clothing, school supplies, and winter coats to students in need.

Kim Wombolt, the director of the program, says the requests come from school officials.

She explained, "We tell our teachers, our counselors, our principals to ask. Sometimes we will have to tell you no because it's not really a need it's more of a want, but the idea here is to get our students concentrating on learning and education, and not be worried about things that most of us would consider to be basic." 

Parents can ask for teachers to submit a request for their children.

Click here to visit the organization's website, or call 406-750-2542 for more information.