Mission

Mountain Ministries is a volunteer organization dedicated to alleviating the suffering of people within the Reno, Sparks, and Truckee area.  
We believe anyone in need is our neighbor and worthy of our help regardless of race, creed, or religion.  

Objectives

• To bring the Good News of the Gospel through practical means of alleviating suffering
  
• To redistribute food, clothing, and other items from local business to those in need
  
• To collaborate with other agencies and organizations to meet the needs of the less fortunate 
  
• To provide help directly to people seeking solutions to their problems

Non-Profit Status

Mountain Ministries gratefully operates under the 501(c)3 of the Truckee Seventh Day Adventist Church.  All donations are tax deductible. 
 

The Story of Mountain Ministries

"I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."
                                                                        - Matthew 23:36

Every day since 1997 Mary McKnight and a small group of volunteers have set out to do a little bit of good in our neck of the woods.

Mary began Mountain Ministries in Truckee where she lived and worked as a nurse.  Today, Mary is retired and she and Mountain Ministries have moved down to Reno.  With the simple goal of helping the needy, Mary works with several local supermarkets, hospitals, and businesses to gather and redistribute food, bedding, shoes, and furniture to those in need.  Seven days a week in sun, heat, wind, or cold, Mary and her volunteers show up.

They gather the food from loading docks or storage areas, sort out the waste, pack the good into crates, load it into Mary's (or another volunteer's) truck, and deliver it to where it's needed.  Some days this is to a soup kitchen or a church, other days a senior center or meth clinic.  Part of the magic of Mountain Ministries is the immediate turnaround of resources: from store shelves to needful families in only a couple hours. 

The reason this all works so well is Mary's boundless energy, dedication, and rare ability to build bridges between businesses, charitable groups, and bureaucracies.  And, perhaps most importantly, "Aunt Mary" takes the time to connect with the staff of each donor business.  Between food runs she is checking in with managers and "the guys in the dairy department", sharing jars of home-made jam before Christmas, and troubleshooting issues as they inevitably come up.  

Mary has purposefully kept Mountain Ministries small and streamlined with a solid group of volunteers.  It is safe to say there are few groups in town or beyond that do so much good with so few resources.   

Please consider supporting our work