Pay It Forward Stories 2019

This year I donated my card to Valicity Once Upon A Time Charity. Each year they hold a Princess Ball in honor of their daughter Valicity who passed away at age 5 after battling leukemia for 2 1/2 years. This year was the ninth annual Princess Ball. Each year they choose one of 3 charities to give the money too. Ronald McDonald House Charities, Angel flight West or The Montana Hope Project. This year the money went to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. In the last eight year they have raised over $460,000 for these charities. It is nice to see that they were able to turn a sad event into something positive, to be able to give back to the community.

Thomas Slagle is a 2013 graduate of Joliet high school, in Joliet, MT. He has a twin brother, William. Both Thomas and William have Klinefelter syndrome, which is an extra x chromosome. They both have struggled with many medical problems for most of their lives.
In June of 2018, it was discovered that Thomas had a massive brain tumor. He was flown from Billings, MT to Denver CO where he underwent a 12 hour surgery. The tumor was so large that the doctors were only able to remove half of it. They planned for Thomas to recover for a couple of weeks and then remove the remaining tumor. Unfortunately, Thomas became very ill with pneumonia and the surgery was postponed. Since then, Thomas has battled many infections, including an infection in his brain and his blood. He is also resistant or allergic to many of the anti-biotics, which has made recovery painful and difficult. Most recently he is recovering from a massive bed sore, which was infected to the bone.
Thomas’ mom, Michelle, was able to spend the first 3 months with him in Denver while his dad, Danny stayed back in Joliet with William. In September Michelle’s leave from work was up and she had to return to Montana. Danny recently had back surgery but as soon as he was cleared by his doctors he went to be with Thomas in Denver.
At this time, the family is waiting for Thomas to recover enough to make the trip to a rehabilitation center closer to their home in Montana, where they hope he will become well enough to remove the rest of the tumor.
In May of 2015, William suffered from the same tumor, at the time the doctors did not believe it to be genetic so they chose not to test Thomas. William spent about 3 months in Denver recovering from his surgery to remove the tumor. William’s tumor was about half the size that Thomas’ was. William has a few lingering problems but for the most part, he has recovered well.

My son Shawn had the same teacher at Russell Elementary for kindergarten and first grade, Amy Stemple. She is the type of teacher that from day one we immediately knew would be excellent - a bubbly personality, responsive to parent inquiries, kind but structured disciplined in her approach to teaching.
Day one of kindergarten, she took a photo of Shawn writing his name and it is still on our kitchen refrigerator door, as are all the many other glimpses into Shawn’s time in her classes.
There were only a handful of kids that stayed with Amy as she moved to the first grade class, but for those kids, last year when they all graduated from high school, she sent them a collage of pictures and projects from their time in her. They were her special ‘pandas’ and she wanted them to know that she was behind them still even, in their endeavors, whatever they chose.
Those extra momentos mean the world to us as parents – to have those little glimpses into his childhood that we wouldn’t ordinarily have had.
My hope is with this gift, I can not only ‘Pay It Forward’ so Ms. Stemple will be able to continue those special touches for her students and parents, but also pay her back for the outstanding beginning she gave our son.

I decided to give the card to a family in Butte, MT. I personally know this family and knew of them having a hard time keeping up on their bills and running low on funds. The husband works in town for the city not sure of his job title and his wife is a first year teacher. They also have a 1 year old daughter. I've witnessed them struggle to come up with money for groceries for the family and staying up on their bills due to fixing issues with their home and that happened in the last year. This family helps out everyone they can with no questions asked. The husband has helped neighbors fix their homes or any other issues they have without wanting anything in return. This money I know will help them out tremendously with supporting their family and help get them back on track. After giving them the card personally they were so grateful that you have helped them out.

What a wonderful gift to "re-gift"!
I split $500 between 3 families who have had major medical bills. Each family is frugal with their money and is always ready to give a hand to others.
It was great to see the look of surprise and thankfulness for the gift cards each family received!!
Thank you Dennis & Phyllis for all the ways you give to your community!

My husband and I have been fortunate to have the same group of gals take care of our kids as babies. When you have others who care for your kids while you work, it's so comforting to know that they are receiving the care, love, and support that you want them to have. Recently one of the gals had an accident that required her to be out of work for a couple of months. Daycare providers in my eyes don't make enough for the vital role they play in caring for kids and knowing that medical bills and other expenses can grow quickly, I'm so thankful that I was able to give a Pay It Forward card to help her meet some of these needs.

Thank you to the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation for allowing us to be able to Pay It Forward within our communities.

I donated my card to a single mother of 6 children. She is recently divorced with an ex-husband who has a drug addiction. He lost his job and is currently in rehab. She is not receiving support and is raising the kids on her own with the help of her parents when possible. I thought this card could go a long way to cover groceries, supplies and daily necessities.

In October, 2018 my Aunt's husband James Wilson pass away. My Aunt was devastated not only for her lost but also because James was the only support that she had, emotionally and monetary as well.
When I was notify that I've won this award I knew I was going to donated to St Jude, but after finding out the situation that my Aunt was living without a thought I gave the card to Her.

Thank you again for helping me, Help others.

God Bless.

This donation supports the development of programs and funds workshop retreats for Special Operation combat warriors and their significant other to rebuild and strengthen their relationship.

Combat warriors and their spouses attend workshop retreats at no cost to them, excluding travel. Donations allows All Secure Foundation to create more programs for more combat families to help fight the war on Post Traumatic Stress on the home front.

I gave the card to a family of 6 who really needed the card and the money for household items and food. They were really happy and thankful for the card and food that.

I gave my pay it forward card to Mike Phyfield, he was hit by a truck on Harrison Ave in Butte, MT. He received extensive injuries and is currently living at a Brain trama Center in Laurel, MT. He has numerous bills and currently no income. Mike and his family were very grateful to receive this help.

I used the giving card to create two summer scholarships at Beartooth Christian Camp (BCC) BeartoothChristianCamp.org. BCC has a 1 week Sr. High camp and a 1 week Jr. High camp. There is a need to sponsor kids who are not able to afford the $300 camp fee. Two scholarships in the name of Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation are available for 1 senior high student and 1 junior high student who desire to attend camp but cannot afford the fee.

I used my card this year to donate to SPCA. Having been a rancher and lover of all animals, i see a need to support the SPCA and other such organizations. All pets, large and small offer us unconditional love, loyality and companionship. I am always sadden and angered to see how some indivisuals treat animals that want nothing but our love. I had a milestone birthday go by on March 11th, so on Facebook I started a Birthday Request Fund, that asked my friend in lue of birthday gifts to donate to SPCA fund. With the assistance from Dennis and Phyllis donation we raised just under $1,000.00 dollars. I truly appreciate the Washington Foundation for their continued afforts to make this a better world.

Thank you all,
John

I split my card equally between two organizations; Family Promise of Missoula (via Missoula Interfaith Collaborative) and the Humane Society of Western Montana.

Family Promise came to mind while reflecting on my late mother who was very active at and a supporter of, St. Anthony parish and Missoula Catholic Schools. Family Promise was a cause dear to her heart, having raised 7 children with my father she was aware of the struggles parents face, trying to provide for their family and raise them to be good people with a strong Christian background. My parents were amazing! I truly believe that strong parents are the backbone of a good family and ultimately a good human. Family Promise offers other parents a "leg up" so they can be good parents and providers as well. "Family Promise of Missoula is a network of 28 congregations and businesses who practice hospitality and work together to provide shelter, meals and support to Missoula families to help them rebuild their lives."

The Humane Society of Western Montana is a cause dear to my heart because I love dogs and I understand the importance of adopting furry friends into our families, whether dog, cat or other and I've felt, first hand, the positive impact these selfless, loving creatures can have on us, their humans. A quote I read recently is so true; "We don't save these animals, they save us."

Thanks to the DPW Foundation for sharing these funds with the Washington Companies employees and allowing us to experience the remarkable feeling of giving on a larger scale than we are normally able to. What a great experience! Thank you!

This year, just like last year, I gave the card to ducks unlimited Helena chapter, we used the money to underwrite a couple auction items and also a hunting rifle that was given away the night of the banquet. The board members( including me) thank you for the support the last few years!

I donated the gift card to American Pride Outdoors. Its a startup nonprofit that helps vets experience outdoor adventures. Its ran by R. Clark, who is in the process of making a fly fishing video, that hopefully makes it on the Fly Fishing Film tour. check out the preview, Reset: a fly fishing story by Jacob Mogler.

There are 2 families that I chose to help that have lost loved ones. One is a neighbor that lost his grandson, so I bought ingredients to make a nice meal for his family and took it over yesterday evening. I plan on making another meal this weekend to take over to them.

The second family I made a meal for lost her husband to cancer. I took the meal to her and her family last night and plan on making another meal for her and her family this weekend.

First I want to thank the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation for the opportunity to participate in the Pay it Forward program. It is such a joy to be able to help individuals and causes that are important to each employee who receives a card.

This year's submission story is a hard one for me to write. Several months ago, there was a man who was involved in a grade crossing incident on MRL, and he unfortunately passed away as a result of his injuries. This man attended my parent's church and was well-known to my family. He was the primary provider for his family, and he left his wife with no means of income with which to provide for herself and their three children. I am all too aware of how tragic this situation is, both for our engineers on the train and for the family that unexpectedly lost their dad and husband, and I wanted to help in some way. My Pay it Forward card was the perfect way for me to help out a hurting family. I worked with my parent's church to pass the card forward and the family was so thankful for the extra help in a very difficult time.

Thank you!

I have chosen to donate my “Pay It Forward” Giving Card to ”Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep”, a nonprofit volunteer organization where all donations are tax deductible.
Their mission and why they exist: To introduce remembrance photography to parents suffering the loss of a baby with a free gift of professional portraiture. They exist to give bereaved families the gift of heirloom portraits to bring healing and comfort as well as provide ongoing support.
More than once I’ve experienced family friends, co-workers, or children of friends having to experience the upcoming birth of a child that was born stillborn, or they know in advance that their infant will not survive after birth.
On January 1, 2018, my Niece went into premature labor 6 weeks early. When arriving at the hospital, she was advised by the doctors that there was no heartbeat of her child. Immediately my family went into shock and did not know how to deal with their emotions or grief while waiting for Noble to arrive into this world without taking a breath. Even though this was happening in Alaska and I live in Washington State, I immediately went on line and contacted the “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep” organization.
A professional photographer was in the hospital room within an hour of being contacted by NILMDTS. The death of an infant is something no parent should ever have to experience. Tender photographs document a childs’ eternal connection with his parents. Receiving images of their baby gives them comfort of a priceless gift where they can honor and remember a tiny life that is forever loved and cherished.
If you or someone you know are in need of their services I encourage you to please go to their website to retrieve general information on where to find a volunteer photographer, learn of services they provide for the families and obtain information on helping the bereaved on what you can say or what services you can do for the families. Hopefully your family or friends never go through the motions of experiencing an infants’ death, but by familiarizing yourself with the organization and what they do, you may be able to provide valuable information and resources to a family during their bereavement. Please visit http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/ . By familiarizing yourself with the organization you may make a difference in a familys' life.

Kelly Prockish
Modern Machinery, Kent WA Branch

When I received this giving card I was unsure of exactly how or who the card should go to. I consulted with my wife and we decided that the card to go to something that was important to us. Over the last year my wife and I have suffered multiple pregnancy losses and we have been seeing an amazing doctor who specializes with infertility. We are still hopeful that we will conceive and have a baby naturally, but we have learned there are some barriers that may prevent that. We started looking into the options available to conceive, such as In Vitro Fertilization and we learned the cost of that procedure alone is around $12,000 and our insurance will not cover any of it. Not very many insurance companies will cover fertilization procedures leaving the people who need them paying for it on their own. In our minds, a baby is completely worth the cost, however it will be a challenge to come up with the funds needed. Knowing that there are likely other hardworking couples out there facing the same situation, we wanted do all we could to help someone else in need. We contacted the doctor that we are using and asked if it would be possible to donate the giving card to one of her patients that is going to be undergoing the In Vitro process in the next few months. The doctor let us know that she had someone that could absolutely benefit from the money.
My wife Sarah and I wrote a letter to the anonymous family who would receive the giving card explaining why it was important for us to help and also gave a brief overview of the Pay it Forward Giving Program. I received a call from the doctor letting me know that the family receiving the card had been contacted and let them know that they were receiving the money. According to the doctor, the recipient was so thankful to receive the card that she began to cry. The recipients explained that they were going to use the money toward their procedure in June. We are wishing them the best of luck and hope that the giving card allows them to breathe a little easier.

My name is Mike Merrick and I work as general foreman in the operations department at Montana Resources. I would like to thank the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for the opportunity to participate in the pay it forward program. On February 15TH I was getting ready to come to work on night shift when my cousin stopped by the house and told me he had been diagnosed with cancer. I was shocked and saddened to hear such horrible news. Needless to say I was pretty upset when I came to work but I found out that I had been chosen to receive a pay it forward card. I finished out my workweek and went and seen my cousin the following week and gave him my card. I explained what the card was and told him to use it on whatever he wanted; medical expenses, bills or to go do something fun with his family! He was very appreciative for the card as was I. Thank you again for such a wonderful program and the chance to PAY IT FORWARD!!!!!!

I have used my Pay it Forward giving card in conjunction with an annual fundraiser that I participate in called RATPOD. https://ratpod.org/ This is bike ride that begins and ends in Dillon Montana in June, raising funds for Camp-Mak-A-Dream, in Gold Creek Montana. From the camps web page:

"Camp Mak-A-Dream provides a medically supervised, cost-free Montana experience, in an intimate community setting for children, young adults and families affected by cancer. A week at camp offers these kids and young adults the chance to be "normal", to conquer challenges, gain independence and self-esteem, make new friends and face their fears alongside others who understand what it's like to have cancer.

As a 501(c)3, non-profit organization, all funding for Camp Mak-A-Dream is raised through private donations, gifts, grants and fundraising events such as this RATPOD ride. Funds raised at this event will directly benefit Camp Mak-A-Dream and its programs.

Camp Mak-A-Dream is located in Gold Creek, Montana, on 87 beautiful acres surrounded by the Flint and Pintler Mountains. The Children's Oncology Camp Foundation was founded in 1991 and since opening in 1995, Camp Mak-A-Dream has served thousands of individuals. For more information, please visit: www.campdream.org."

March 17, 2019

I want to start out by saying thank you to the Dennis & Phyllis Washington

Foundation and the Pay It Forward program. As I ponder where it should go I spent a lot

of time thinking, as well as looking, into different options. The final answer I came to was

my grandfather, Albert Greenfield.

He was a strong and gentle giant born April 27, 1924 in New York. He went on to

be in the US Army, fighting for his country in WWII. After the service, he came to

Montana where he met his wife and had four beautiful children. He was a logger, then

moved into owning his own long haul trucking company running coast to coast. He and

his children were very outdoorsy and loved to sports. His life was cut short at 40 years

old, such a young age, playing racket ball at the Elks Club. He died December 11, 1964

doing what he loved to do.

Ever since the headstone was damaged at his gravesite, our family wonder how

we were going to replace it. Thanks to Pay It Forward my grandfather will have a proper

headstone again.

While at work, I heard about a young boy who was just diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. The doctors said they had discovered it soon enough, it had not spread and he should be ok. But this will require numerous trips to Denver for chemo and radiation therapy. This brave young boy spent his 12th birthday in Denver for his first round of treatments. I donated my card to the Crichfield family to use for any expenses they wanted to use it for.

I would like to thank the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for allowing me to give my card to a family that can really use the extra funds. My thoughts go out to the Crichfield family for a full and speedy recovery of their son.

I gave my giving card to a friend and his wife in need of a helping hand due to medical bills and other daily essentials. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to help someone else in need!

Sincerely,
David White