Tell us about your organization: The M&N Augustine Foundation for Human Development
• Mission: "A hand-up rather than a hand-out" is at the very heart of our mission, and our outreach is multifaceted. We help people of all walks of life when life has simply dealt them a blow that without help, could irrevocably derail their ability to move forward. This can be as simple as providing gas money to get back and forth from medical treatments in another city or as heartbreaking as paying for funeral expenses for a family who has no other way to lay their loved one to rest. And of course, the Caring Kitchen is an ongoing effort to provide hot, nutritious food and human connection to those who need it most.
Caring Kitchen
Who: M&N Augustine Foundation for Human Development
What: The all-volunteer nonprofit organization offers to-go meals for those in need.
When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: The foundation’s headquarters at 503 E. 15th St. in Fayetteville
Information: (479) 521-5384
• Who is eligible? Our outreach is broad, we touch lives from Pea Ridge to Little Rock and everywhere in between through our volunteers. Those who fall through the cracks from other nonprofits usually find themselves coming to the M&N Augustine Foundation.
• How can services be accessed? Most of our clients are referred to us by our volunteer base. As a 100% volunteer organization, it is up to all of us to be aware of the needs of our community and when we encounter individuals who could use a friend and a helping hand, then we act on our motto, "Turning Compassion into Action." With a large base of volunteers, you can imagine that we get more referrals than we can possibly handle. That is why we look at each individual and circumstance before we accept clients. And if we can't provide help, then we do everything we can to find alternative resources.
• What are your organization's most pressing needs? We have exceeded the capacity in our Caring Kitchen, and so we need to expand it. Additionally, we need a refrigerated box truck to increase the food capacity in our Caring Kitchen from the regular retail outlets and the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. A box truck would help us achieve a reduction in our cost and enable us to expand our services to a larger number of needy individuals. To achieve this, monetary donations are needed.
• Are there volunteer opportunities in your organization? What are they? Our organization has always been blessed with an abundance of volunteers; however, as we anticipate feeding a larger number of people in our Caring Kitchen, we can always use additional hands on deck. We need volunteers at our International Festival (fall) and our Easter Feed, which has been postponed due to the coronavirus.
• What other ways may people help? We often need people who simply know how to do things. People who are licensed to provide services such as electrical, auto, HVAC and other services to our clients. The willingness to donate time and expertise could mean the difference between one of our clients having a car to get to work and therefore the ability to keep their job and put a roof over their family's head and food on the table -- and losing everything.
• Why do you volunteer for a nonprofit organization? Do you have a personal connection to the mission? If so, what is it? I believe that we are ALL called to help others, so that is why I volunteer. As it is with everything within our organization, it is God's calling. It also provides a sense of fulfillment whenever you can do something good for someone else.
NAN Profiles on 03/29/2020