Blog

I mentioned in the original Charlestown Patriot Bridge article, that the idea for RUNmyERRAND came when we were out of dog food one night and were our way out to dinner at Masa in the South End.  We had already called a cab, so there was no way to run out quickly before the cab came, and there was also no way we could let the big meat head go starving, even for one night.  We bounced around ideas to get dog food … calling a neighbor and borrowing a cup, asking the cab to stop on the way home, but none of these seemed ideal.  That is when Remy was born …

"If we offered the right price … there has to be someone out there that would purchase the dog food, and leave it at our door, so Kobe can eat when we get home later".

Solving this very problem, RUNmyERRAND welcomes Polka Dog Bakery in the South End as one of our newest "Biz Senders"!  Now you can get your dog and cat food, treats, and other delicious polkadogbakery goodies delivered right to your door. Call the retail store to arrange delivery: 617.338.5155.  This is perfect for someone who buys their dog food from Polka Dog, but can’t always get over there before they run out.  With a quick phone call, you can have dog food waiting for your little meat head, and avoid this major conundrum!  We did a test run last week, and sent Kobe an early Christmas present from the Polka Dog Store:

More great press today from The Charlestown Bridge.  People are going to start thinking I own the paper, or at least have dirt on the editor.  Neither of which is true, RUNmyERRAND is just really cranking here in the community, and people are taking notice!  This is a community based web application, after all! 

Harvest on Vine food pantry will receive a much-needed boost, thanks to the efforts of Charlestown-based online company RUNmyERRAND.

On Dec. 1, RUNmyERRAND launched its Holiday Drive to benefit Harvest On Vine, as well as two shelters: the Dennis McLaughlin House at the Constitution Inn YMCA and CASPAR (Cambridge and Somerville Program for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Rehabilitation). While RUNmyERRAND, which was launched by husband-and-wife team Leah and Kevin Busque and fellow Charlestown resident, Brian Thomas in September, allows people to post errands they need run and puts them in contact with people willing to perform the chores, the new Holiday Drive feature will allow users to donate to the aforementioned charities and solicit its runners to deliver the goods.

People are really loving this "sponsor a bag of groceries" idea!  Its an easy, tangible, gift, and one that makes a huge difference. 

On the feature list from the very beginning has been an iPhone App.  We started with a web app, and got it to a launching point this evening.  It is pretty sweet.  You can now purchase credits, post errands, run errands, close errands, leave ratings and reviews … all right from your iPhone!  It just makes sense if you are on the go, not near a computer, to be able to post or run errands with your mobile device.

After you are signed up and logged in you’ll see all these fabulous options clickable from your iPhone!

Remember to Add a Bookmark to your HomePage, because our graphics guru has made a sweet little running man icon:

This is a fantastic write up from a brand new user Anthony L, who has his own Real Estate Boston Blog.  He used the service today for the very first time and seemed to be pretty THRILLED with the experience! 

I may  have just found simply the coolest, most awesome, most convenient, time saving, money saving, most awesome (did I say most awesome?) service in downtown Boston – RunMyErrand.com

Within 10 minutes I got a text message and an email stating that the errand had been “taken” and ANGE N. was in route to come to my office!  WOW…how great, I thought to myself.

I get so excited to hear about these experiences and love when people are surprised by 1) how quickly their errand gets picked up and 2) that this website actually exists!  In this day and age of technology, it only seems natural to be able to outsource your life in this way, AND … when you calculate what your time is worth and compare it to what you are paying … it makes a whole lot of sense!  Thanks for the great write up Anthony … you rock!

Harvest on Vine is a food pantry servicing the needy of Charlestown for over 6 years.  They open the food pantry doors twice a month, the 2nd Saturday at 10:00am and the last Tuesday at 7:00pm.  Keeping the shelves stocked is quite the feet, and RUNmyERRAND is partnering with them to help out!  Now, as part of the Holiday Drive, you can sponsor a bag of groceries to be delivered to the pantry.  You specify how much you want to spend on groceries, a Runner will do the shopping, and make the donation for you!  Any amount ($10, $20, $30) is greatly appreciated!  You do not even have to leave your computer to help out in a big way!  Besides the bag of groceries you donate, a portion of the Runner Fee you offer will also be donated by RUNmyERRAND as a monetary gift to the pantry … so you are actually giving in two ways!  Could this be any easier?!

Kicking off on December 1st, is our very special Holiday Drive!  I had a big idea last weekend, that the way the site works is pretty unique … Senders posting things, Runners doing them.  It hit me that to be able to leverage this functionality to facilitate holiday giving would be pretty fantastic!  I collaborated with one of our Runners, Rick R, who helped me get a list of items needed a one of our two local area shelters – CASPAR (Cambridge).  The other shelter we are supporting is the McLaughlin House at the YMCA in Charlestown.  Each shelter is unique in that they each service a wide range of people … men, women, and even children.  Its nice to have this variety, because the list of donations needed is not limited to only a couple items.  Warm winter clothes are needed at both shelters, but kid’s toys and books are specifically needed at the YMCA.  While Men’s winter jackets and sweaters are needed at CASPAR.

We’ve made it really easy to participate in this Holiday Drive!  You don’t even have to leave your computer to make a donation … how cool is that?!  Simply log on to the site …

1. Choose an item you would like to donate
2. Have a Runner pick that item up from you, or sponsor a Runner to make the purchase for you
3. The Runner will then carry out the donation to one of the two shelters

Its that simple!  For instance, if someone would like to donate a new, unwrapped, toy for the kids at the YMCA, they would post an errand to have a Runner purchase the toy, and make the delivery directly to the McLaughlin House.  The Sender and Runner would not even need to meet the in person, and the Sender would then just reimburse the Runner online for the toy purchase.

Besides the item donation, a portion of each Runner fee will also be donated as a monetary gift directly to the shelter.  You could think of it as a matching gifts campaign.  The bigger the Runner Fee offered, the bigger monetary donation will be made by RUNmyERRAND.  So each person is actually giving in two ways, once in the items they donate, and once in the Runner Fee they offer!

RUNmyERRAND hopes to make a huge impact this holiday season for these two very special shelters.  With your help and just a few clicks of the mouse, we really can make a difference!