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Metro Schools go digital to meet student needs

purposity.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  Metro Nashville schools are using a new charity website to connect the community with its neediest students.

Purposity.com was launched last year and is already working with schools and non-profits in 30 states to aid the poor. The website name is a combination of the words “purpose” and “generosity.”

While protecting the identity of both donor and recipient, the site allows the donor to immediately purchase an item that meets the specific, requested need of an individual in the community.

Blake Canterbury is Purposity’s founder and self-described “do-gooder.” He says the website uses technology to addres the growing isolation in American life.

“We live in a day when we can make a doctor’s appointment from our cell phone, but we have no idea if somebody two doors down has food to eat or clothes to wear.”

Canterbury notes that, at this moment when the nation is so deeply polarized, Purposity answers the question, “Would you help your neighbors if you knew they were in need?”  He says the overwhelming reaction to the website suggests the answer is “Yes.”

To ensure that the individuals receiving aid have legitimate needs, Canterbury says Purposity never takes requests directly from individuals in need.

“What we do is we partner with local non-profits and school districts who already have people on the ground and have systems for moving people from poverty to sustainability.”

The Nashville School system says it’s using Purposity.com primarily to meet the needs of the some 3,000 students who experience homelessness each year.