Adam Cummings
I chose to give my card to the family of Ella Bennett. Ella has been diagnosed with FOXG1 Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that effects roughly 600 people in the world. FOXG1 Syndrome is caused by a mutation of the FOXG1 gene, which impacts brain development and function. This severe condition is characterized by seizures, inability to control body movements, gastrointestinal issues, and lack of speech. Ella will require lifelong medical care, adaptive equipment and therapies to manage her condition.
The family wishes to thank the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for thinking of them and their sweet Ella
Rami Altamimi
During this unprecedented time with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, I have chosen to donate tablets to a local school district to help elementary students access their school work. Schools around the world have had to cancel in-person learning and the attendance of classes due to the spread of the virus and to abide by social distancing protocol. Remote learning has continued online, however, the problem is not all students have an internet accessible device to use at home. With this donation students in need have received tablets so they can access their online classrooms and complete their assignments. During a time of such anxiety and uncertainty, I am thankful to have the opportunity to contribute to the schools and help make student learning possible.Landon Kjensmo
Molly Flomer
The original intent was for the Potomac School 8th graders to use the PIF card on their 8th grade capstone trip to a marine biology institute on Catalina Island. The card would supplement the class’ fundraising. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, the class was unable to go on their scheduled trip.
The Potomac School Board used the fundraising money to purchase a MacBook laptop for each 8th grader. We then used the PIF card to purchase MacBook covers and accessories for each 8th grader. Now every Potomac 8th grader is set for high school with a great laptop, cover and accessories.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to help the Potomac 8th grade class in a very unusual situation.
Victoria Robinette
American Childhood Cancer Organization Inland Northwest is one I will always give to for the rest of my life. I give a monthly donation and always an happy to donate more when I can. Their support for families with children diagnosed with cancer is unmatched. They supported my family after my 4 year old niece was diagnosed and continue to offer support even 7 years after Marleigh’s death. I participated in a gift card fundraiser where I bought gift cards from local restaurants (Barnwood Social Kitchen & Tavern, Froyo) that will be given to these families previously mentioned. It was a great way to support our local businesses in need and also a wonderful organization helping families.
Support Your Local Everything is an organization that has started since the beginning of COVID-19 to help businesses in need in our area. We have had a number of permanent business closures but maybe some have been saved due to this organization.
The Great PNW is a clothing company that created a fund raiser to support service industry members in the NW who have disproportionately been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Black Lives Matter Global Network is an organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives.
Dean Hansen
Sara Utigard
Robert McKinnon
My family and I would like to thank the Dennis & Phyllis Washington foundation for allowing us to participate in the 2020 Pay it forward program. We decided to pay it forward to Montana on a Mission (MOM). Montana on a Mission exists to encourage people to live out the love of Jesus Christ by coming alongside impoverished or marginalized people to improve their physical condition and ultimately impact their spiritual lives. Montana on a Mission (MOM) is a Christian charitable organization under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Sometimes disasters are small and localized to a family or community (fire or drought) and sometimes they are so widespread recovery seems impossible. In response to needs related to the Coronavirus pandemic, MOM is currently responding to some short term crisis needs. Here in Montana, some folks need a little extra help to get by this month until they get the green light to get back to work. Sometimes that means paying a utility bill, medical bill or a month of rent.
In Kenya and the Philippines, a widespread shutdown has rendered many of the most vulnerable people – widows, orphans, day workers without an income for the foreseeable future. MOM is responding with emergency food relief and handwashing supplies to keep families alive.
MONTANA ON A MISSION VALUES:
·God loves us and the proof of his love is Jesus Christ. MOM believes that each person ultimately finds their needs met in a relationship with Jesus Christ and we follow his model in caring for people by meeting physical needs and pointing out our need for a relationship with God through Jesus.
·MOM recognize that God’s leading is important and therefore they sustain this ministry with prayer.
·MOM recognizes that they are stewards and trustees of God’s resources and people’s trust so they strive to have the highest ethical standards in finances and relationships.
·MOM recognizes the importance of taking on projects that are sustainable over a long period of time. Therefore they will invest time, energy and resources into projects that are of the highest quality, reproducible and economically sound. MOM will also seek to implement ways of expanding and lengthening impact in the people and communities they invest in.
·MOM believes in coming alongside people to help them help themselves so they enter into partnerships which make this possible.
·Humility is one of MOM’s most important values. MOM believes they are fellow learners, friends, and co-workers.
·MOM believes that the road to success means creating a model which can be used in other places. While no two situations are exactly alike, there are things that MOM believes are transferable and that there are models which can help them help more people.
As MOM plans and prepares for future mission trips, they believe it is important for each of them to keep these values in mind, particularly the first two because they lay the foundation for God’s work in us and through us.
Kyle Isakson
I am so grateful to receive this pay it forward Gift. I am choosing to pay it forward to the Race track volunteer fire department. I am choosing RTVFD for their dedication to the Butte community not only in emergency response but to the safety of children in the community with their fire safety trailer. Most of RTVFD‘s new equipment is provided by grants and some city supported tax dollars, but any funding after grants for the fire safety trailer and day-to-day operations and equipment replacement is funded through donations and fundraising which is all dependent on the already highly involved volunteers of this department. This department is very near and dear to my heart because my father Volunteered at RTVFD for over 30 years and still continues to help the department, I have also volunteered at Racetrack since I was 18 years old. I was so happy to receive the pay it forward this year it means so much to me! Thank you Dennis and Phyllis Washington for always thinking about our local community!Dan Nowak
Camille Aiken
Monty Mattson
The Grays Harbor County Fire District 2 was in need of an air quality monitor. The monitor provides the firefighters & EMS Personnel with information of DO NOT ENTER EXPLOSIONS MAY OCCUR or ENTER WEARING SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) due to low oxygen levels. These types of situations are common, for example, carbon monoxide from generators, barbecues or cars running in enclosed areas. Also, propane or natural gas leaks.I am a volunteer with the Grays Harbor County Fire District 2 at the Brady station having 30 years of service and obtaining the rank of Lieutenant. I can state the need for this tool has never been greater.
Thank you Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation for the funds allowing us to purchase this monitor and save lives.
Amelinda Olson
2020 Pay It Forward Giving Card Program:
This year I chose a friend of mine, Cassie Jangula. The following is her self-description on Facebook: Abuse Survivor. Mother. Foster Mother. Daycare owner. Teacher. Friend. Opinionated.
I chose her because of the amazing things she does everyday for our Butte Community. She has 4 children and Foster’s 3 children. Two of the 3 Foster’s are in the process of being adopted by her and her husband. The children range in ages from 14 years to 3 months. She has two 7-year-olds and 2 infants. I have watched her the last 3 years and the Foster Children have come so far. They are developing their own personalities and confidence. Besides taking care of these children she has a day care and has substitute taught.
Cassie recently bought a new home so each child could have their own room. In the move she found some of the bunk beds didn’t fit and other items were needed. She used the gift card to purchase a loft bed, bedroom set, storage cubicles, laundry hampers for each room, new clothes for the babies, a toy box and a video baby monitor. Cassie is incredibly resourceful and I was amazed at how far she made the money go with each child receiving something needed.
Cassie works very hard to make ends meet and it was a pleasure to be able to give her some extra cash at a time she needed it most.
Thank you for your continued generosity and investing in the Butte communities.
Sincerely,
Amelinda Olson
Kyle Viste
Jacquelyn Ryan
Curtis Sainsbury
Monica Cederberg
I gave my giving card to ZooTown Crossfit’s Crossfit Kids program. The card was used to purchase equipment for the kids’ program. Crossfit Kids is a fitness program for children ages 5-12. The programming focuses not only on mechanics of movement, but also building confidence, discipline, and a sense of camaraderie among the young athletes. Photo from Crossfit.comKyle Erickson
Alan Buell
The pay it forward grant of $500 is donated to Special K Ranch, a non-profit facility caring for mentally challenged children and adults. The facility houses, feeds, encourages, trains, and gives purpose to a group of folks not supported as a whole in our society. The ranch offers opportunity to learn, socialize, and contribute in meaningful projects.Denim Hellyer
Dan Peterson
Mick Goff
Keith Williams
Bryan Stewart
Phil Van Tassel
During 2019/2020, I was fortunate enough for my employer, Montana Rail Link, to invest in me and put me through the Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Missoula program. Among the many valuable sessions and days that I was able to experience through this program, one of the most impactful to me was the Human Needs Day.
During Human Needs Day, one of the establishments that we toured was the Missoula Food Bank. While touring the Missoula Food Bank, I learned of the power-packs program for school children; they were putting together nutritious snack-packs and meals for school-children on the weekends as many of them depend on their school meals for their nutrition, and end up going hungry over the weekends. Having an 18-month old at home, this was really hard for me to hear, and certainly encouraged me to try and be more involved in humanitarian efforts such as this.
When I learned I was a recipient of the Pay It Forward card, there was very little hesitation in my mind of where it was going; I would give it to the Missoula Food Bank and ask that they use it toward their nutritional program for school children.
This pay-it-forward program is such a neat way to allow our employees to give back to their communities, as well as empower them as to where they would like to give. I am very thankful for this opportunity to be involved in the generous giving of the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation, and the Missoula Food Bank was very thankful for this (and this program) as well!
Blake Berumen
Travis Sant
Shawn Besel
Rebecca Rebecca
First and foremost, thank you for the opportunity to be a part of the Pay It Forward program this year! We used our card to donate, in memory of our pup, to the Mission Valley Animal Shelter.With the pandemic in full swing, we thought we would order supplies and have them shipped to the shelter, but most places were out of stock or there would be a long delay in receiving them. We ventured out to purchase food and much needed items for the shelter. We loaded up the back of our vehicle with over 300 lbs of wet and dry food, specialty food, kitten replacement milk, treats and much love for what they do, and delivered to the appreciative staff at MVAS.
They were extremely grateful for the donation and would like to thank the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for their generosity!
Harlan Penninger
As they were laid off from their jobs, things got tight and this was a help in keeping the household running and help them thru a tough time.They were beyond thankful for the gift and have asked me to pass on their thanks to the Washingtons and everyone involved in making the Pay-it-Forward cards possible. So thank you!!!!!
We really did make a difference.
John Knutson
A good friend of my family recently had a baby, the little boy was born with a heart condition and required surgery at the age of three months. I gave them the Giving Card to help with travel expenses to the Denver hospital. Little Lyam has a long way to go before he is out of the woods, but for his family being able to be with him as he was going through his ordeal was a God send.
Thank you Dennis and Phyllis!
John
Chris Casagranda
John Stager
Martin Kaldahl
Michael Paul
Shawnee Jackson
I would like to sincerely thank the Washington family for their continued generosity. I presented my giving card to the Youth Ministry at my church, Crosspoint Community Church. Our Youth Group has been working very hard to raise money to take a trip to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter. The $500 gave a big boost to their efforts and will help them achieve their fundraising goal much quicker. The gift card was an absolute blessing that will help advance the education of our Youth Group while also advancing the good works of the Lord.
Thank you again!
Thomas Gosser
Well first off, I am a veteran of the US Air Force. I chose to give to the USO this year for a couple of reasons. Of course they support our active military members by providing aide, assistance and entertainment when they are on the move all around the world, not just in the U.S. They provide rest, food and layover facilities at most if not all International Domestic Airports for the enlisted personnel and their families. They provide entertainment and support at overseas locations for the troops. One thing they did recently for instance, they sent out people dressed like the Easter bunny to Military installations like Travis AFB in northern California and delivered Easter baskets to the children living in Base housing. My daughter and son in law are stationed there with their 3 daughters. It was very much appreciated. So as you can see the USO is one of those organizations that deserve our support. I give to the USO on a regular basis.God Bless!
Michael Bazala
Zachary Archer
Hello, I gave this giving card to a really good friend of mine who has helped me in some of the most difficult times of my life. His name is Frank Winnberg of Trout Creek Montana. Frank is a Vietnam Veteran, He’s active in the community and in his church. I am truly blessed that this man is in my life.Thank you for giving me the opportunity to bring some happiness to Frank.
Sincerely Zachary Archer
Tammy Mocabee
I chose to give my Pay it Forward card to Youth Homes.
Because of the Youth Homes organization, over 12,000 at-risk children in Western Montana have be given the opportunity to experience childhood in a safe and secure place to call home since 1971. Each day they serve over 300 children and families through their emergency shelters, therapeutic group homes, foster care and adoption programs and counseling services. Over 90% of these kids improve their grades and stay in school and nearly 95% graduate or get their GED. Most importantly, the Youth Homes provides kids the chance to be a kid and work on building healthy relationships that will be their base for moving forward as a healthier and happier adult.
For the past several years I have run the Missoula Marathon as part of the Run 4 Kids team. Though this, I’ve had the opportunity to list to several of the kids tell their story and to hear how appreciative they are to have members of the community offering to help them. We are so fortunate to have a group like Youth Homes to advocate for these kids.
Thank you to the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation for this opportunity to Pay it Forward.
Craig Hardy
I donated the Giving Card to a local schools backpack program. The program helps vulnerable families, here in our community, that face tough decisions to feed their kids or putting gas in their vehicle to get to work. The funds were used to buy shelf stable food for 3 families with kids ranging in age from 6 to 17. All of the families expressed gratefulness and expressed a small sense of relief.
Thank you for allowing me to be part of such a great program.
Craig
William Dobb
She is having a terrible time trying to get assistance and hold down her own job that she was just hired at. So needless to say times got tough and this Five hundred dollar gift card went a long ways to put food in little mouths and diapers on little bottoms. I would like to thank The Dennis and Phyllis Foundation for the opportunity to help so many in need people during this very unique and trying time.
Jessica Tyvand
Paul Slater
Sannan Solberg
Thank you to the Foundation for letting me help a couple organizations in need.
Amanda Griffith
Tony La
We used the Pay it Forward card to bless the Hedahl family. The Hedahl have 3 boys, their youngest boy Squish was diagnosed with a muscle tissue cancer known as Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma at a young age. The family has made numerous travels to Denver to and back for Squish’s appointment’s and cancer treatment. Squish and his family was recently selected to go to Disney World as part of the Make a Wish foundation. We felt that this gift card would help the family give Squish and his older brothers a memory that would last a lifetime. We also learned that Squish is in full remission, which is the best news anyone could ask for. Thanks to the Washington Foundation for making this donation possible to families like the Hedahl.Travis Birkenbuel
To give back to someone who gives so much
In late 2019 I returned to Montana Resources and began working as an engineer. As such, I was pleasantly surprised to be chosen to give a gift of $500.00 to a family in need. This is a great program that the Washington Group has organized.
The donation was given to Tanner Sholey who was diagnosed with synovial cell sarcoma in the summer of 2019. The diagnosis required Tanner to complete chemotherapy and radiation along with surgery to take out the sarcoma itself. The treatment was to shrink the tumor down to a manageable size so surgery could be completed with minimal damage to his arm.
I chose Tanner for the following reasons. Many other individuals in the community had medical issues and were raising more funds than their goal, where Tanner had not yet met his goal to assist with the incredible costs associated with his diagnosis. The main reason Tanner was chosen, was because of his mom, Pam Sholey.
Pam and her family are incredible and continuously give back to the community. Recently, Montana Youth Soccer awarded Pam as the MYSA 2019 Volunteer of the Year! Pam volunteers hundreds of hours each year, to elevate soccer for her local club and across the state! Soccer is just one example of how Pam and her family donates to the community; there are many other examples. With all of the volunteer work and time this family has given to the Butte community, I felt it was a good opportunity to give back to the Sholey family. Thank you for this wonderful organization and the opportunity to give back to a family in need.
Cheri Galle
Timothy Shields
n the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, a group of Butte women found a way to show appreciation to those on the front lines, while supporting local restaurants struggling from a stay-at-home order.
When Sonia Zachow of La Casa Toscana began delivering meals to health care providers at St. James Healthcare, she wanted to do more to help those on the front lines. So Zachow reached out to Julie Jaksha, regional director of the small business development center for Headwaters RC&D, for help coordinating efforts with other local restaurant owners.
Meanwhile, Jaksha had already heard of another Butte resident, Krissy Kraczkowsky, interested in starting a front line appreciation group in Butte. That’s when she saw an opportunity for collaboration. Together, they formed the Front Line Appreciation Group (FLAG) of Butte.
As I looked to find a worthwhile organization for my pay it forward, my daughter suggested the Front Line Appreciation Group. I believe in these trying times it is important to put our focus on this terrible virus we are dealing with. The idea of providing meals to our heroes on the front lines really appealed to me. So far FLAG has delivered over 1100 meals to our front line workers in Butte. It is an honor to be able to contribute to this wonderful organization. I would like to thank the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation for this opportunity.
Chanel Cleary
MITCH BROWN
I have donated my pay it forward card to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Billings.
Where I have been a “BIG” for over 13 years now.
Again thank you for this opportunity to help out.
Zachary Sedgwick
Nancy Kenny
Victoria Butler
I chose to donate my Pay It Forward card to the Veterans Advocacy Clinic at the University of Montana School of Law. This organization is dear to me, and they are serving a region that typically does not get adequate support.
The Veterans Advocacy Clinic provides free legal services to veterans across Montana. The Clinic fulfills its mission of accounting for the long-term impacts of military service on disabled or improperly discharged veterans through direct legal representation, legal consultation, and outreach. The Clinic works to ensure that veterans receive proper care and compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs and works to resolve improper and inequitable discharges by the Department of Defense.
Since its founding in 2017, the Clinic has represented over 50 veterans before the VA and the DoD and counseled many more.
In addition, the Veterans Advocacy Clinic, as part of the Clinical Program at the Alexander Blewett III Law School, supervises students as they handle veterans’ claims. The Clinic trains students in professionalism and administrative law while instilling the spirit of volunteerism in the next generation of attorneys.
The Clinic plans to use my Pay It Forward donation to complete an outreach trip to an underserved rural area or Tribal Reservation in need of resources for veterans.
Jason Thomas
Bill Oberlander
Earlier this year, my wife Lisa & I learned of a little boy, Manny, here in Las Vegas that had his wheelchair stolen. His family was crushed with the personal and financial blow the theft caused. Manny has 6 other siblings all being raised by a single mother working hard just to put food on the table and shelter over seven little souls. Manny’s physical handicaps and mobility needs require a specialized wheelchair and the replacement cost for his stolen chair was overwhelming for Sarah, his mother. Multiple groups of friends and neighbors banded together and raised money to help give Sarah the financial ability to buy her son a new wheelchair. He desperately wanted, to again, move around and enjoy time with his friends and family. Lisa & I took inspiration from the generosity of the Dennis & Phyllis Washington foundation and donated the Foundation’s Pay It Forward gift to Manny’s mother along with a matching personal donation. The funds raised from our local off road clubs topped off by the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation’s Pay It Forward gift allowed Sarah to pay for a new $4,000 specialized wheelchair for her young son. He is now able to move around with a smile on this face and the world in front of him. Dennis & Phyllis, thank you for your generosity and inspiration through the Foundation to help make our communities a kinder place.
Bill & Lisa Oberlander
Larry Hotzel
John D’Antuono
The 2020 Pay It Forward Card was bestowed to the organization Cultivating Connections. Cultivating Connections is a non-profit organization that introduces the youth of today to organic farming and directs many other programs that include:*The Youth Farm Internship: 8 Interns mentored in the arts of organic farming, community involvement, and value-added food processing.
*Salads For Seniors’ project- 100 fresh garden salads a week for eight weeks. Interns harvested, produced, and delivered the salads to Meals on
Wheels of Ravalli County Council on Aging.
*International Youth in Farming Work Safari: 3 interns traveled to Berlin, Germany to learn about and experience a foreign culture and its
agriculture.
*Special Abilities Camp: Eighth year of summer days camps for kids on the autism spectrum, in cooperation with Bitterroot Arts for Autism.
*Kinder-Gardeners Project: 3-part farm visit series for all seven kindergarten classes (over 120 kids) from Hamilton.
*Homies Program: Weekly summer farm visits for youth living at the Linda Massa Youth Home.Cultivating Connections was so appreciative in receiving monies from the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation – Pay It Forward, especially since all of their spring fund raising efforts were cancelled secondary to CoVid 19.
Don Darnall
I gave my card to missoula youth hockey, they are in need of gear for kids, upgrades to the facility, and probially way more than I’m aware, I have donated a fair bit of time helping with events and the free youth clinics, I left the funds as a whole so they could put them where they were needed most giving the chain of events in the last couple months. I have seen the improvement of self confidence, friendship, trust and the overwhelming sense of joy that msla youth hockey has giving to many kids , I thank you on behalf of myself and missoula youth hockey for the opportunity and the gift that allows them to keep giving! Thank you again ,,DonDaniel Sherwood
Tim Stark
Olivia Miklautsch
I gave my Pay It Forward donation to the YWCA of Missoula. The YWCA is “…dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. The YWCA opens doors to opportunity and self-sufficiency for women and families facing poverty, violence and discrimination. With over 100 years of experience, the YWCA is the leading organization in Missoula for moving women and families out of crisis and empowering them to achieve lasting independence”.
In the unprecedented times that we face today with COVID-19, there is no better time to give to local non-profits. When I contacted the YWCA, Missoula wasn’t under the stay-at-home order yet, but started to understand the importance of social distancing and sanitizing in combating the virus. I was able to reach out to the YWCA through email and we were able to meet in person to give my Pay it Forward donation them, even though they were closed to the general public. They were incredibly appreciative for this donation. I was told that because of COVID-19, they had to close their thrift stores, which provides vital income for their services. Currently, they are planning to use the donation to help cover extra costs such as sanitizing products for their shelter.
Thank you for allowing me to give back to my community, especially during such an important time as this.
– Olivia
Tyto Vigil
Tyto Vigil
Joshua Clinger
Our family chose to donate to the Second Harvest food bank. This donation is estimated to help provide as many as 2400 much needed meals. We felt like this generous gift would be best used to help feed the many struggling families throughout our community. The recent Pandemic has put an incredible amount of stress on food banks across the country. Many hard working American families are in a situation unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. This is the first time many of these families have ever had to look for an outside hand for help. Our family felt very honored to be chosen for this years Pay it Forward program. This was a good learning experience for our youngest child in the importance of charitable giving. We all chipped in and with a couple extra chores around the house were able to bring the total meals provided to 3500:) Thank you and God bless.
~The Clinger Family~
Rlynn Halvorson
Yevgeny Galushkin
i chose to give mycard to Gates of Freedom is a Christian non-profit 501(c)3 organization that is dedicated to serving our communities and focuses its ministry around helping troubled teens and young adults. It was founded in 2009 out of the needs that exist in our society. Today, Gates of Freedom is an active part of the community by providing spiritual support to general youth, teens in critical situations, and young adults in correction centers across the State of Washington. Gates of Freedom conduct community outreach and education, and serve at the Men’s Recovery Center in Enumclaw, WA. Over the years, hundreds of inmates and recovery center students have heard the Good News that Jesus can help them no matter how far they have gone in their lives, and many have received a new life and hope for the future.Sheena Veitenheimer
For the Pay it forward I chose:
Hazel and Owen Tyler with Paws up Safe Home.
In the beautiful valley of Potomac MT
these amazing elderly couple take care of the Lost, Abandoned and Abused Animals
I had a hard time contacting Hazel because of the Convid-19 but we did meet car to car talking she told me some wonderful stories about all the animals she and her husband take care of she was surprisingly fun and energetic. She invited me to come up and see her land and tell me more stories about all her critters in the summer time.
thank you very much for the chartable donation for these wonderful generous people.
Justin Streck
I chose to pay forward the $500 gift card to Morgan McQuillan. Here is her story:
Morgan McQuillan’s story:
Morgan McQuillan was first diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, at the age of 5 in May of 1999. She was scheduled to start kindergarten in the fall but instead started chemotherapy. In September of that same year, she had a very rare amputation done on her right leg to remove the tumor. Morgan successfully learned how to walk with a prosthetic and went on to beat the cancer. Then 8 years later, when she was 12 years old, she was rediagnosed with Osteosarcoma of the soft tissue. She underwent surgery to remove the spots. At the age of 14, Morgan lost her father to Leukemia. At the age of 15, Morgan relapsed for the third time and a tumor was found in her upper jaw. She underwent chemo as well as surgery to remove the upper part of her jaw and was fitted with a partial mouth prosthesis. Once again, she went into remission. Two years later, during the fall of her senior year of high school, she was rediagnosed with Osteosarcoma, with one tumor in her soft tissue and another one on her pelvis. At this time, Morgan was told her options were very limited as she had built a tolerance up to most chemotherapy and any surgery they could do would be very extreme and diminish the quality of her life. At this time, it was clear that Morgan would never be fully cured of cancer. Rather than the doctors giving up on Morgan, they decided to try an unconventional form of treatment which consisted of radiation and chemotherapy. This was one of many miracles that was given to Morgan, the treatment worked and killed that tumor. Due to the radiation Morgan endured, she began having extreme pain in her pelvis and had to learn how to deal with that. Morgan experienced two more occurrences of Osteosarcoma in her right pelvis by the age of 22. Both times, the tumors were killed with a surgery called ablation. However, this surgery caused her to lose the feeling on the right side of her hip.
In January of this year, Morgan was rediagnosed for the seventh time with Osteosarcoma. The doctors also found a tumor on her small intestine that needed to be removed. Treatment options were once again limited. Morgan was given the option to undergo a surgery called a Hemipelvectomy, which she chose. This surgery removed her entire right hip and the remainder of her right leg. Morgan is still in the hospital to this date recovering from this surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN where she has undergone the majority of her treatment. She is experiencing a significant amount of stomach problems due to the removal of the tumor on her intestine which is slowing down her progress. She is simultaneously going through physical therapy and is now learning how to be mobile with just one leg. She will rely on a wheelchair or a walker to get her around for the rest of her life. The rest of Morgan’s treatment plan is up in the air at the point. Once Morgan returns home, she will be staying at her mother’s house outside of Joliet, MT which is currently undergoing some remodeling to make it handicap accessible for Morgan.
Thank you for reading Morgan’s story.
Submitted on March 4, 2020 by Kate Croft, Morgan’s sister.
Tyto Vigil
Tyto Vigil
Dustin Schillinger
I chose to give the giving card to a sweet little girl in Butte Montana that was born with Down Syndrome. Her family is very loving and provides every possible thing they can for her to be happy, healthy, and excel in life. Her parents both work full time and devote every spare minute to raising their three daughters. Her therapies are very costly, so the giving card will be used towards them. I felt that a hard working, devoted, and loving family embodied the spirit of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation. The family as well as my family are very thankful for this opportunity and wonderful program.Dustin Schillinger
Matthew Curran
Lucas Hren
Ben Ralls
The night before I received the honor of giving the pay it forward card a family in my neighborhood lost their home and most of their belongings to a house fire. In a time of need I was able to deliver hope and love to a family who was in desperate need of it. The funds will be used to replace house hold and personal items that were lost.
I am grateful to be apart of an organization that cares so deeply about the communities that we work in, the difference that they make is noticeable!
Forrest Norby
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of Americans are out of work for the foreseeable future. While many of these people are expected to receive assistance in one form or another from the CARES Act, one group that faces deliberate and explicate exclusion from this bill is sex workers.
I have chosen to give $500 to a fund established for Missoula area sex workers, to help them get through these difficult times. Because sex work IS work, and these folks are frequently overlooked and marginalized members of our community, and don’t deserve to be excluded from the assistance being given the rest of us.
“We need this fund to stay housed, fed, and safe, as many in our community are struggling to find work and pay for basic necessities at this time. We are asking for donations from our allies, clients, organizations, and anyone not impacted by the pandemic. Funds received will be distributed to our most vulnerable community members first—those who are BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color), queer/trans, have dependents, or are immunocompromised.”
“Many of us are survival sex workers. We are facing eviction. We are trying to get on our feet after leaving abusive partners. We are immigrants. We have young children. We’re going to continue to build community and help each other in any way that we can during this time.”
Thomas Moran
Hello All,
First, I’d like to thank everyone involved with the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, for their generosity, kind heartedness, and willingness to help others in so many ways.
I chose to donate my Pay it Forward card to BABUSA, Bikers Against Bullies. I have participated in some of their events, rides, met many wonderful people along the way, have seen some of their work on bikes which they sell raffle tickets for, then donate the funds to children in many different places.
The recipient was very happy to receive this donation, and assured me that it will all go towards children and the awareness of something which we feel is a great cause.
Thank you.
Thomas Moran
Lee Kinser
Nicole Carney
This year I chose to Payitforward to Shan’s Foster Farm. Shannon is an individual that works on the front lines rescuing animals in need. She is the person that crawls under the abandoned house to gather up a litter of puppies that are freezing to death. She is the person spending countless hours gaining a feral dogs trust so it can be caught. She is going out multiple times a day to check a live trap in hopes of catching a moma dog whose puppies were already caught. She spends nights up for hours bottle feeding abandoned kittens trying to keep them alive. All of this on her personal time, on her dollar, and in her home. Once she gets these animals caught and healthy she helps to get them to shelters to find them good homes. I wanted to help her out and say thank you for hard work and to help with the costs of doing so. She is an amazing person with a great cause.Rachel Buswell
The giving card was given to a sweet family whom you would never suspect might have a tight financial budget, unless you know them personally. The father works in law enforcement and the mother has chosen to be a stay-at-home mom for their four boys, ages 2 to 13. The father has recently had a few mishaps in his line of work which resulted in him having to have knee surgery. Subsequently, he missed a few weeks of work and was on work comp. The mother lives with gastoparesis, which is a stomach disease that makes you pretty much feel like you have a stomach flu that never goes away. When she has a flare-up, she often ends up in the E.R. and then the hospital for 3 or 4 days. On top of the health issues, they have 4 growing and very active boys. Despite the hardships this family has faced, they are a light in their community. They serve the people of their community endlessly and without complaint. I felt they needed the encouragement of knowing there are people out there who really do care about them as well and that is why they were given the gift card.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to help them out!
Nathan Wright
Keith Johnson
Susan Twiford
Carli Hennequin
Bitterroot Winter Special Olympics is a local organization helping local people using local volunteers and donations. Started in 1981 with twelve athletes, a handful of volunteers provided a cross country ski venue for adults and children with physical and mental challenges. Since then it has grown into a very popular winter event and will host it’s 40th annual games in January of 2021.
In January of 2020 the Bitterroot Winter Special Olympics hosted 126 athletes representing 16 schools and other organizations, with over 200 coaches and support people and an additional 200 plus volunteers. Cross country skiing, downhill skiing and snowshoe races were the events provided at Lost Trail Powder Mountain over a two day period. A banquet and dance was also hosted by the Olympic organizers at the Bitterroot River Inn.
Bitterroot Winter Special Olympics raises the majority of its funding by hosting the annual Hacker Golf Tournament at the Hamilton Golf Club in September each year. Additional donations from local businesses and individuals help provide the funds needed to keep this popular event going every January.
The Bitterroot Winter Special Olympics is truly a grassroots organization promoting competition, friendship and joy between athletes, coaches and volunteers.
My mother in-law, Marla Hennequin, has been a volunteer on the steering committee for 34 years.
Tom Kloker
I was chosen to hand out a Pay It Forward card from the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for 2020. For my card, I chose Lynette Harrington. Her daughter Kodi is a personal friend. In early January, Lynnette had a massive stroke. She was rendered paralyzed on her left side. Lynette is retired and was also taking care of her elderly mother at the time as well. Lynette and her mother both had to be moved into assisted living as Lynette rehabs from her stroke. With the money, Kodi was able to purchase an electric recliner and walker to help her mom in her rehab. She is doing well in recovery at this time. I received a card from Kodi thanking myself and the foundation. I want to personally thank the foundation as well for giving me this opportunity to help people in need. I have been chosen many time for this great honor. This brings so much joy to people who are in need.
Thanks again,
Tom
Dave Slack
Tyler Verlanic
BJ Lange
Most recently, she lost her job due to the company closing and had accepted a new position with another employer when the pandemic suspended the job. This card will offer a little help and genuine kindness.
Thank you again for the opportunity to brighten ones day.
Charles Baker
Jana Norton
Hal Bates
Thank you for this opportunity to help them out. This is a wonderful program that helps so many.Hal Bates
Zanae Bates
I would like to personally thank Dennis and Phyllis Washington foundation for this wonderful program. I have split mine three ways that have touched mt heart.
1st choice was given to a friend’s son Max is a High school athlete that has recently lost vision in his eye do to a tumor on his optical nerve. They are now doing chemo and having to travel to Salt Lake for treatments. I wanted to help them with a little gas money or help them be able to get a few meals while on the road.
2nd choice: I have given a small donation to the New Hope project. This is a wonderful place that helps out out community with pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, assuring moms of help with making decisions or pointing them in ways to help them make choices.
3rd choice: A friend that just moved to Montana found out they are expecting. I thought giving them some money to help with the expenses of starting the new journey to lessen their burden.
Thank you for this great opportunity that we can help others out even if it is just a small gesture. They all truly appreciated the help!
Zanae’ Bates
Jeff Gonzales
Casey Turk
Shawn Neal
I presented the giving card to The Marine Corps League, Detachment 1132 Riverfront Marines North Augusta, South Carolina. Below are a list a programs that 1132 have in place to support veterans, veteran spouses/children and the local community.– Volunteering at the VA Hospital: Door Greeters/information desk, Bingo Night for shut-in patients, Student Volunteer Support, Salute to Hospitalized veterans, Homeless stand downs and many other; Toys-For-Tots, Junior ROTC Annual Scholarship program and providing ceremonial burials for veterans in the local area. This Unit assist the veterans in the South Carolina and Georgia area in any way that is possible possible.
Charles Marvin
Thank you to the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for this program. I gave my Pay It Forward funds to Animeals No Kill Adoption Center and Animal Food Bank. This is a great organization that rescues cats and kittens and keeps them until they are adopted, while providing medical care along the way. They also feed local cats and dogs for seniors and others that may have a hard time financially feeding their pets, instead of giving their pets away they are able to keep them, which helps the homeless animal problem. I asked Animeals to please wave adoption fees for the cats that have been there the longest and have been hard to adopt out for whatever reason. They were very excited for this donation and said Thank you so much!!
Thank you again for this opportunity to help my community.
Geordy Kerscher
chris thomas
District. This will help ensure that the low income children will not go without food, or clothing. The school helps the children if they are unable to have a warm coat, or a pair of boots/shoes. They help supply the necessities that most of us take for granted.
Again, thank you for this opportunity to allow me to help our community and our children.
Britney Fregerio
Wade Richards
John Anderson a retired electrician and my former partner from Montana Resources had taken his granddaughter for a snowmobile ride and she was involved in an accident that nobody will ever forget. She is recovering but has a long road ahead. Attached is the story her mother has posted.Saturday, February 15th, my daughter, Morgan Sanders went for her first ever snowmobiling ride with my dad. Shortly after they began, Morgan felt the need for speed and was not able to control her sled around a slight curve. The ski of the sled caught under roots or brush and she was thrown from the snowmobile into a tree.My dad sat with her for over an hour waiting for any help from emergency crews as they struggled to find a location or means of transportation through the woods to get them. Life flight circled around them a few times and finally landed a couple miles from where they were. Paramedics were not able to go into the woods from there. A friend of mine showed up with his snowmobile and went to them, picking up a paramedic on the way. ( I believe) Another friend of mine came with a cat flex, a huge machine that can track through snow. They were all eventually able to get her to the helicopter. She was flown to Missoula, stabilized and then sent to Sacred Heart in Spokane, WA.
She has never regained consciousness due to her injury. She has a temporal skull fracture, brain bleeds, blood and spinal fluid leaking from her right ear, and a bruised lung. The overall diagnosis is Diffuse Axonal Injury. A severe traumatic brain injury.
Since arriving at Sacred Heart she has developed staph pneumonia, which they say is pretty common.
She moves when poked or prodded as if to be irritated by the stimulation.
I was told it is possible for her to rehabilitate once she becomes aware, but that rehabilitation looks different for each person. If you read about DAI on the internet, it is devastating as it mentions most that suffer this TBI end up in a vegetative state, permanently.
We believe that Morgan’s story will be that of miracles.
Thank you for joining us
in supporting my daughter in her healing process. It gives us courage when we feel weak and sad.
Lance Hart
The gift card was donated to Graduation Matters for the Laurel Public Schools to buy books for a literacy event. The event is “Reading Under the Lights” and will take place next fall. Families will be invited to come to the Laurel Sports Complex for an evening of reading. Each family will receive a book that will be read aloud over the sound system and each child will be able to choose another book to read while waiting for the read aloud. All books will go home with the children and families. They will also be given cookies and milk as they leave for the night. This is an event for all families in the Laurel community. (The photo is of last year’s event, also partially funded by a Pay it Forward donation from last year.)
I would like to thank the Washington Foundation for the gift card and the opportunity to pay it forward.
Janae Wright
Tyler Baker
Jody Verity
Ryan Devlin
Kathleen Muchmore
I was going to give the entire Giving Card to one organization but after reading the “We Care” section of the Missoulian I decided to put a little more effort into this and ended up helping Seven different people.
First I contacted Sentinel High School Families in Transition Coordinator Michelle Manning to help out a student that needed a twin bed, sheets, bedding and blankets as he had been sleeping on an air mattress. I personally delivered the items which was very rewarding to know I could help out and also make contact with Michelle.
I then contacted Emily a Case Manager at 3Rivers Mental Health Center about any of their clients needing help, she was just going into a Staff Meeting so she would spread the word. By the next day I had received emails from Emily, Kristin and Christopher with requests to help out several of the clients on their case load. I ended up giving them Fuel cards, Wal-mart cards, and Straight talk phone cards, which I also delivered in order to met the staff. Below are some of the emails I received:
_______________________________________________________________
Kathi,
Thank you so much for your donations. I know that we have all, clients and case managers, appreciated your assistance so much. It has gone a long way to help our clients. If you would like to reach out again next year, I know we would all be grateful. If you end up with extra basketball tickets to donate, I’m sure we could find some clients who would enjoy going out into the community to attend the games.
Thank you again for everything
Emily
___________________________________________________________________
I just wanted to send you a thank you from myself and my client. He got an email to schedule an interview today and was able to call them back to confirm!
Thanks again!
Krissy Brown
_______________________________________________________
I have 3 people that desperately need hygiene products and supplies and
3 others that it would really be helpful (kids in the home). I will take whatever you want to offer and start with those in the most need.
Thanks again for everything!
_______________________________________________________
Mike Hodges
The gift card was donated to Graduation Matters for the Laurel Public Schools to buy books for a literacy event. The event is “Reading Under the Lights” and will take place next fall. Families will be invited to come to the Laurel Sports Complex for an evening of reading. Each family will receive a book that will be read aloud over the sound system and each child will be able to choose another book to read while waiting for the read aloud. All books will go home with the children and families. They will also be given cookies and milk as they leave for the night. This is an event for all families in the Laurel community. (The photo is of last year’s event, also partially funded by a Pay it Forward donation from last year.)
I would like to thank the Washington Foundation for the gift card and the opportunity to pay it forward.
Kim Piazza
The giving card was used for the charity One Community One Family
Our mission is to provide support at diagnosis to cancer patients in the Skagit Valley Community. We believe most people are not fully prepared for the overwhelming emotional and physical changes, as well as financial hardships, during this time. Our volunteers are dedicated to the long term success of this grant program through ongoing donations and fundraising efforts.
Lorie Ryerson
David Eaton
Samantha Chagnon
Havre Trails is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that works to promote hiking, running, and biking in Havre and the surrounding Hill County area of Montana. Traditionally, Havre Trails hosts a summer hiking series of up to eight hikes with nearly forty participants per hike. However, due to the COVID-19 crisis, Havre Trails decided not to host an in-person hike series this season to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants. As a creative way to continue motivating community members to get outside for their mental and physical well-being, Havre Trails is hosting its very first Hike Scavenger Hunt! Havre Trails will create a list of local area trails and promote the hikes for community members to walk, run, or bike the trails on their own time and in their own family groups while safely practicing social distancing. Hikers will be able to submit photos of their completed hikes to win some fabulous outdoor-related prizes that were purchased using the Giving Card. The Hike Scavenger Hunt will be promoted throughout the summer months, and Havre Trails will consistently highlight various local trails on its Facebook page. The event will not only encourage health and wellness for area residents but will also bring the community together in a positive way to enjoy our local natural treasures. Thank you to the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation and Washington Companies for giving us the opportunity to host such a fun event that will see hundreds of community members getting outside in a safe and healthy way this summer season!Doug Reisig
We, at Hellgate Elementary, are planning to use the gift to assist several of our kindergarten through 1st grade students who are experiencing difficult family situations as a result of COVID-19. Assistance will range from helping to supply basic clothing needs for the children whose parents have lost their jobs to purchasing school supplies for the children in preparation for the 2020/2021 school year. Without the generosity of the Washington Foundation, the school district would not be able to assist the children to the level we can now. In the adult world. maybe having those basic needs met is not a big deal. But to children, those basic needs are their world and, at times, trying to meet those needs can be terrifying and all-consuming.
Again, thank you for the generous Pay It Forward giving card and for making the lives of the children at Hellgate Elementary better.
Keri Maart
Thank you for everything!!!!
FTSD #40
Dustin Schwarz
The Northern Division Freestyle (NDF) is a nonprofit-based volunteer organization providing competitive freestyle skiing venues throughout the state of Montana and Idaho, encouraging participants of all ages with emphasis on youth. Northern Division Freestyle offers organized US Ski Association sanctioned events in all of the freestyle disciplines: Moguls, Dual Moguls, Terrain Park events, Big Air events. Competing in these Northern Division events is the first step for our Montana athletes towards a spot on the U.S. Freestyle Team and the U.S. Olympic Team. The money from the card was used to purchase an insulated 5 person tent that will be used for the scorekeeper and electronic equipment, a 22 inch scoop shovel that will keep the jumps safe throughout the events, 5 bundles of flags used for building mogul courses and an ice anchor drill adapter.Valisa Pancake
James McCaarthy
I would like to thank the Dennis & Phyllis Washington foundation for allowing me to be a part of the Washington Companies 2020 Pay it forward employee charitable giving program. The charitable case that I have chosen is the backpack program. After talking to friends and family explaining Pay it forward employee charitable giving program and how it works, I asked them the question what charitable causes they would donate to if given the opportunity. As we all know there are so many great charitable cause to choose from but unfortunately, I can only choose one. The backpack program was explained to me by a volunteer reading teacher at the local schools in Butte, as she was explaining the back-pack program with tears in her eyes it made me realize how lucky we are to have enough food to eat and money to spend.
The Washington Companies 2020 Pay it forward employee charitable giving program does a lot more than just give away money it allows us all to view life from a different perspective, make changes in others live’s and experience the positive feeling known as the helper’s high.
The backpack program
The backpack program provides bags of food for children who are chronically hungry. Students are identified by teachers, and volunteers discretely deposit the bags in the children’s backpacks during the school days. The backpack program distributes to over 400 students pre-week. Funding for the backpack program comes from the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser, hosted annually in coordination with the Butte High School Art Club. Established in 2018 the Butte High School Bag program provides bags of food to high school students. These bags contain enough food to cover meals for the weekend, High school bags are available anonymously and include items for breakfast, lunch and snack items for two days.
Empty Bowls is a dinner event supporting the Foodbank’s Backpack Program. They were able to start this program in 2014 to help those chronically hungry children. Teachers identify the children who are eligible for the program. They will receive a bag of food on Friday that will provide them breakfast and lunch items for two days. They are currently distributing over 400 bags each weekend. The distribution continues during the summer months at various summer feeding locations.
Local potters work for over 4 months throwing 1100 soup size bowls and 100 large serving bowls for this event. With the purchase of a ticket you will receive one of the bowls, soup prepared by local restaurants, take part in a silent auction, and enjoy live entertainment.
They need to raise $62,000 per year to continue feeding the children enrolled in the program.
Butte Emergency Food Bank
(406) 782-6230
1019 E 2nd St
Butte, MT 59701
Teresa Hulteng
Morgan McQuillan was first diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, at the age of 5 in May of 1999. She was scheduled to start kindergarten in the fall but instead started chemotherapy. In September of that same year, she had a very rare amputation done on her right leg to remove the tumor. Morgan successfully learned how to walk with a prosthetic and went on to beat the cancer. Then 8 years later, when she was 12 years old, she was rediagnosed with Osteosarcoma of the soft tissue. She underwent surgery to remove the spots. At the age of 14, Morgan lost her father to Leukemia. At the age of 15, Morgan relapsed for the third time and a tumor was found in her upper jaw. She underwent chemo as well as surgery to remove the upper part of her jaw and was fitted with a partial mouth prosthesis. Once again, she went into remission. Two years later, during the fall of her senior year of high school, she was rediagnosed with Osteosarcoma, with one tumor in her soft tissue and another one on her pelvis. At this time, Morgan was told her options were very limited as she had built a tolerance up to most chemotherapy and any surgery they could do would be very extreme and diminish the quality of her life. At this time, it was clear that Morgan would never be fully cured of cancer. Rather than the doctors giving up on Morgan, they decided to try an unconventional form of treatment which consisted of radiation and chemotherapy. This was one of many miracles that was given to Morgan, the treatment worked and killed that tumor. Due to the radiation Morgan endured, she began having extreme pain in her pelvis and had to learn how to deal with that. Morgan experienced two more occurrences of Osteosarcoma in her right pelvis by the age of 22. Both times, the tumors were killed with a surgery called ablation. However, this surgery caused her to lose the feeling on the right side of her hip.
In January of this year, Morgan was rediagnosed for the seventh time with Osteosarcoma. The doctors also found a tumor on her small intestine that needed to be removed. Treatment options were once again limited. Morgan was given the option to undergo a surgery called a Hemipelvectomy, which she chose. This surgery removed her entire right hip and the remainder of her right leg. Morgan is still in the hospital to this date recovering from this surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN where she has undergone the majority of her treatment. She is experiencing a significant amount of stomach problems due to the removal of the tumor on her intestine which is slowing down her progress. She is simultaneously going through physical therapy and is now learning how to be mobile with just one leg. She will rely on a wheelchair or a walker to get her around for the rest of her life. The rest of Morgan’s treatment plan is up in the air at the point. Once Morgan returns home, she will be staying at her mother’s house outside of Joliet, MT which is currently undergoing some remodeling to make it handicap accessible for Morgan.
Clinton Kramer
In January of this year, Morgan was rediagnosed for the seventh time with Osteosarcoma. The doctors also found a tumor on her small intestine that needed to be removed. Treatment options were once again limited. Morgan was given the option to undergo a surgery called a Hemipelvectomy, which she chose. This surgery removed her entire right hip and the remainder of her right leg. Morgan is still in the hospital to this date recovering from this surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN where she has undergone the majority of her treatment. She is experiencing a significant amount of stomach problems due to the removal of the tumor on her intestine which is slowing down her progress. She is simultaneously going through physical therapy and is now learning how to be mobile with just one leg. She will rely on a wheelchair or a walker to get her around for the rest of her life. The rest of Morgan’s treatment plan is up in the air at the point. Once Morgan returns home, she will be staying at her mother’s house outside of Joliet, MT which is currently undergoing some remodeling to make it handicap accessible for Morgan.
Thank you for reading Morgan’s story.
Submitted on March 4, 2020 by Kate Croft, Morgan’s sister.
Cody Pesanti
Mike Merrick
Gary Boone
As a volunteer at The Way Christian School in Livingston Montana, I identified their need of a new copier. Their old Canon copier was very fond of eating several papers as it printed. Staples of Bozeman was kind enough to sweeten the sale of a new Brother business machine with a sharply discounted price and a box of copier paper.
My remaining funds were donated to the Shane Lelani Center for the Arts in the form of tickets to see the current musical production of “Big Fish”.
The tickets, 5 adults and 4 children, were then given to 4 families in the Livingston area. 2 Adult tickets given, went to a couple who spend all of their free time volunteering in many ways in Livingston. The remaining tickets went to 3 single parent homes to give them an evening of entertainment that these parents wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford.
Trent Sumpter
Robert Stephenson
John McNaught
Jeremiah Michael
Russ Brownlee
Jim Stevens
Kyle Patterson
Misty Larson
Chris Beaulieu
I was lucky to be drawn again this year for the Pay It Forward giving card and I had decided this year to help out animals. I stopped in at Help For Homeless Pets and talked to Ashley. HHP is a no kill non-profit organization and they take in all animals, get them their proper shots, spay or neuter them. After talking to Ashley a bit, I decided this was the place to donate my card to. I like what they are doing there. The cages are very big so the animals are not cramped at all, and the cages were kept clean. This donation will help them in many ways to make these animals more comfortable until they are adopted.
I would like to thank Dennis and Phyllis again for allowing me to make this donation to a worthy cause.
Johnna Eisenmann
Russell Young
Rich Miller
Jon McLean
Kris Matter
Jay Raymond
Devin Clary
Since December 28, 2016 the Joe Smietanka Memorial Scholarship at Helena College (University of Montana) has assisted students with felony convictions in meeting the cost of books, supplies, or tools necessary for an accredited degree or technical proficiency certificate.
While Helena College represents a great value, many students with prior felony convictions face an uphill climb meeting the myriad of expenses associated higher education. The Joe Smietanka Memorial Scholarship believes in recognizing and helping deserving individuals who have turned, or are turning, their lives around. We think any assistance now will later pay exponentially greater dividends to society.501(c)3 Tax deductible donations can be made directly by mail to: The Helena College Foundation, POB 629, Helena MT 59624; or via PayPal at the Foundation’s website: helenacollegefoundation.org. In any instance, make your check payable, or include a notation that the funds are to be deposited, to The Joe Smietanka Memorial Scholarship Account.
Thank you for remembering Joe and changing the world, a little bit at a time.
Lisa Berumen
Donated the entire card to an organization called BARK (Billings Animal Rescue Kare) They are a small, amazing non-kill animal shelter that is wonderful to their animals and finds them good homes. We got our rescue dog Sasha from there 9 years ago and I remember what an awesome organization they were and wanted to help them out with this pay it forward opportunity.Stevielynne Whetstone
Gabriel Hill
I chose to use my card to purchase socks and underwear for the Tumbleweed program. They help homeless teens in the Billings area. People always donate used clothes and food to the program, but people don’t think about socks and underwear. These items have to be new or they can’t take them. I was lucky enough to have a Sam’s Club membership so I was able to maximize the $500 and get more product than I could at a regular store.Eric Hassli
Hi there,Thank you for letting me be a part of that amazing cause!!!My good friend in Las Vegas NV Royce Woodward have a 4 years old daughter who got diagnosed with a cancer about a year ago , after a year of fighting (lots of round of chemotherapy) she’s in remission!!!! (She’s still going through couple round of chemotherapy but she’s so strong!!! She’s our hero!!! Her beautiful a strong family is really thankful for that gift card!!!!! Thank you very much.
You can go checkout their Facebook page
Team izzy – the princess warrior, our hero!!!
Lorna Pettigrew
The hospital is having a fund raiser and the money is going to be used to update residents rooms, sidewalk repair and much needed medical equipment for patient care.
Holden Knutson
I chose to donate to Charity Water. They are a great charity helping with providing clean drinking water to third world countries. Diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. The water helps keep kids in school, especially women because they don’t have to go and collect it and have more time to do other things.
Thank you for the opportunity for me to donate to such a great cause.
John Moore
There is an ice rink at Pineview Park, in Missoula, that is maintained lovingly and with serious commitment by a bunch of volunteers from the neighborhood. They have been doing this for 44 years, late nights and very early mornings making ice so they can count on their adult pick up games and so kids from all over can learn to skate, meet up with their friends and find the same joy they do playing hockey. This year they got a zamboni which should help maintaining the ice so much easier, and provide better ice for skating. They were $500 dollars short on their Go Fund Me page – Pineview Park Zamboni – so that is where we sent the money. We love skating at Pineview park, its one of those neighborhood privileges that we cant believe we get to benefit from. Walk to the park, pop on your skates, suffer through tying your kids skates and boom – best day ever. Thanks Pay it forward and Washington Companies.Todd Burt
Dale Argento
Shaun Brown
Old Dog Haven
Located in Oak Harbor, WashingtonThis is a “No Kill” specialty Animal Shelter that only take in Elderly/Senior dogs that have been abandoned or given up by their owners because they do not want to take care of them anymore or spend the money for the medical costs to treat them or prolong their lives.
These dogs come from animal shelters all over Washington that have major health issues and require medical expenses.
This organization nurses the dogs back to health and then find them homes that will make them comfortable and happy for the short time they have left to live.
The dogs that have non treatable issues they will house them and make them as comfortable as they can and give them a loving environment until they pass.
They told me this money card donation will go to towards medical surgeries and medications.
Mike Watson
John Wilson
Pete Loomis
I am donating the Pay it Forward to Wyoming Bassethound Rescue. Holly Moen and the staff do a amazing job with rescuing, fostering, and adoption of Basset Hounds. A lot of the money donated to the rescue goes towards Vet bills, which i have seen first hand can be very costly. WBHR does not cut any corners either when it comes to the health of the dogs before they are adopted to their forever home. Thank you WBHR for your help with the Bassets, and thank you Dennis and Phyllis for your Pay It Forward and the opportunity to help!