Pay It Forward Stories 2019

So this year I chose to help out my daughter in her fundraising to go to an acting competition in New York. My oldest Erin has always been head strong and enjoyed being the center of attention. When something grabs her attention and she wants to do it she usually takes it head on with very little care of how hard or difficult the endeavor may be. This has helped her academically as she studies hard and is in both the AP classes and the gifted classes as well. When she first saw a science fair she immediately wanted to to do an experiment and chose cleaning water as her basis in all her experiments. Her first year she placed and took best experiment in show that involved food as she showed how to make salt water drinkable beating out kids much older then herself. This attitude has also helped her in her extracurricular activities as well. Like I said she loves to be the center of attention so she immediately fell in love with acting and singing. She takes voice lessons and has also been in a couple of shows at the Local NOVA theater in school house rock and as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol. So when she could she rushed at the idea of going to a talent agency. Through that she was able to audition for a IMTA. It was no surprise that they loved her and she was able to secure an invite to their conference in New York. She begged and begged to be able to go and like any good father I told her NO, way to expensive, maybe some other time when she could raise the money. And the last part was the only part she would accept ( like i said very headstrong). So the talk of fundraising begin. I told her with that I would help her, and now armed with nothing but her freckles and dreams of being able to make it there we are starting her fundraising. I want to thank MRL for helping us sponsor her in farthing her dreams.

This year I decided to split the money from the Pay it Forward program. Half went to the Jump Rope for Heart/American Heart Association through Russell School where my Son attends in Missoula. The next portion I donated to MS-150 bike ride in honor of a high school classmate who committed suicide and was afflicted with MS. The final portion was donated to the Alzheimer's Association. The last donation was the most important to me as my family recently found out our Beautiful Mom has been diagnosed with dementia.

I received a Pay It Forward $500 gift card and donated it to the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle, Washington. This house provides sleeping accommodations, meals, & other services for families with children who are receiving treatment at the Children's Hospital. Their services are provided for a small donation or free of charge for anyone in need.

My close friend and co-worker from Butte, has a grandson that was born with some medical issues that required care at the Seattle Children's Hospital. While the baby received care, his family utilized the services provided by the Ronald McDonald house for approximately seven months, making their time away from home a little easier and less of a financial burden.

The Ronald McDonald house is a non-profit organization that runs on donations, and I felt this was a very worthy organization to receive the gift card.
Thank you to the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation for your generosity & for the Pay It Forward program.

I donated my giving card to Harvest food ministry/ Vicki's food pantry. This organization helps meet the Billings community food needs.

For my Pay-it-Forward I chose Freckles and Dreams which is a fundraiser for Erin Tucker. She is trying to fundraiser to go to a once in a lifetime acting competition for IMTA in New York. She is also the daughter of fellow employee Nicholas Tucker. My wife and I have seen her in various plays at the local theaters here in town and even at the young age of 10 it’s easy to see she has a passion for this that will help her succeed. We are glad that MRL has given us this chance to help her in her journey towards what is hopefully a very illustrious career. Good luck and best wishes Erin!!

Due to the generosity of the Foundation, I was able to gift my card to a local school teacher. Her story is below:

My name is Taylor Hassler, and I am the teacher of a Functional Life Skills Classroom for grades 9-12 at Capital High School in Helena, MT. Each student in this classroom has one or more type of a cognitive disability. Teaching functional daily living skills is vital to these students as we prepare them for their post-secondary lives, with the ultimate goal to be as independent as possible.

With the great honor of being chosen for this $500 gift, I thought a lot about the best way to put it to use so that my current and future students would benefit from this for more than just this year. Funded completely by your generosity, I have used this money to start a coffee shop business for our classroom! I have purchased the supplies and tools to set up a beverage business in our classroom. Not only will this continue to benefit the students’ needs by bringing money directly back into our classroom, but it will also teach the students invaluable skills in money management and social skills, among many other important skills.
We will start this coffee business at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year by offering a wide variety of coffee and hot chocolate options to our students and faculty. I am so thankful for the generosity of your foundation to be able to start this business for the benefit of these wonderful students.

Gave mine to a family in need whos house was damaged by fire.

I choose the Superior little guy wrestling program this year. It is a non-profit organization that is free of charge for your child to participate in. They used the gift card to purchase new wrestling singlet that where overdue to be replaced.

Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation
2019 Pay It Forward Giving Cards:
When I heard of the Pay It Forward program I immediately though of my bother in law, Jamison Challeen. When I met my husband to be, Kevin in 1990, Jamison was 12 years old. He was funny, artistic and head strong.
In the last 5 years Jamison has lived in Corvallis, OR. He fell on some hard times with physical and mental health issues. During that time, he also saw the birth of his daughter Seraquin. He has been a very hands on Dad and eventually gained sole custody of his daughter. He is currently working towards a certificate to be a mental health counselor. At the same time, he is also working at McDonalds. His plans are to move back to Montana to start working in mental health and to be closer to his family. Unfortunately, he lost his drivers license with a speeding ticket. The fines ended up totally $800.00. This is a huge amount of money on a limited income. The fines must be paid in cash. This has been a hardship. Jameson has done what many people do and that is juggle money around.
He has used the Pay It Forward cash to pay for bills, Seraquin’s Boys & Girls membership and a few father daughter dates. This has allowed him to build up some cash in his checking account to pay down the fines.
Below are some conversations we have had concerning the card and his plans.
Jamison:
“Oh I finally got it. I'm bawling now. This is gonna turn our shizz around...just the boost we needed...now I can get my license back and get a real job for real money with real hours! And I can return to my family and my homeland...You guys...I don't think I could have made it through all these last few years without you, and I know I wouldn't have survived this long in the world had you not been part of my life since I was 12. I get feisty, temperamental and butt hurt but I've always thanked the heavens for sending you into our lives. Most importantly for how you take care of my brother...the best man on Earth!”

Amelinda: “Glad you got the card. You have always had a special place in my heart. Even though at times you stepped all over it. I think you needed time to grow and figure a few things out. And a few punches in the arm as a wake up call.
When you are closer to moving keep us posted.”

Amelinda: “I am touching base to see how things are going with your drivers license. I am going to write the paper for the Pay It Forward program soon. How did you end up spending the money? Hope you are starting to feel better.”

Jamison: “I have been stymied in my efforts to get my license this week as SQ has woken with 101 fever and I have to take care of that, though I'm going to make payment arrangements today. I still have most of the money on that card, as I've been using it in place of my debit card for nonfood items so I can save the money in my account for the tickets. So it's been spent on gas, some eating out (when I was too sick to cook), some entertainment (like going to see Shazam). So basically I'm just shifting my household (nonrent/ power/ phone) bills to the card so I can use the money paying off my $800 in fines (for getting a 15 mile over speeding ticket, and not reporting to court, which I thought was admission of guilt and you just pay the fine, but here in Oregon, they revoke your license, if you don't go back to the town's traffic court witch runs half a day once a month. So, I don't know, I'm feeling way behind the 8 ball here. But, though this seems whiny, I'm under the impression that all this is just the final layers of obstacles so I can back to MT.”.

Jamison: “The transactions are mostly small things, Like I pay SQ's boys and girls club, and i've used it for our daddy daughter dates (where we go to eat) and my plan is to continue to use it for things like that (gas, food) anything I would spend my regular money on so that I'm not using what's in my checking so I can use that as a lump sum for the ticket. Probably the most confusing way of doing that, I know. And I don't know how to communicate that I'm using the money and it is going towards things we need, and is the only reason I can pay my ticket right now. But I can put a few more bills on the card as well.”

Jamison: “Used it today to pay for her Boys and Girls club...I have no clue how much is left on it, but paid off two months today. Should have my license in two weeks! This asthma kicked me off my feet and set me back three months, but now every day is a step closer to getting home.
We are hoping Jamison and Seragquin are able to move back to Montana this summer. The $500.00 was a start to this goal to create a new life with a new career and be closer to family. Thank you for your generosity.
Sincerely,
Amelinda Olson

I am honored to be able to support my high school friend and classmate (currently battling complications of her own), as she has committed to riding 500 miles in the Great Cycle Challenge to raise awareness of Children's Cancer Research Fund. Over 15,700 children are diagnosed every year, and sadly, 38 children die of cancer every week. Kids should be living life, not fighting for it.

Its been hard for me and my family the last couple years its definitely been very trying to say the least. We’ve had to deal a couple deaths in my family that has turned grief and turmoil into our lives, especially for my mother. My mom and dad have been married for 44 years My dad always took care of my mom He had a successful business and my mom was a stay home mom who took care of her children. I had two brothers and two sisters so she always had her hands full.
My dad passed away two years ago he would be 63 years old this month. When he passed everything for my mom came to abrupt stop and sent her world into a confused and sad mess. My younger brother worked at the shop for my dad so he stepped in and tried to run the business but it wasn’t doing to well at it, but at least my moms mortgage on the shop and house was being made and she was taken care of. My dad had no retirement and no life insurance so mom pretty much had nothing. Then when things we thought may be getting better everything came to another scary halt. My brother was in a snowmobile accident this winter, me and my other younger brother were with him when he wrecked his sled into a ice wall. My brother died on impact. This was devastating to my family, especially my mom, he was kind of always her favorite and also was keeping the business and my mom afloat. I’m in no position to be able to do the business and do my job with modern. I gave any extra money I had saved to my mom, and that has strained my life, we are still coming out of the hole from my daughter, she had a life threatening issue which caused her to go through a liver transplant, one of the most scariest times of my life and heart wrenching.
So with all these events that happened I know life can be short and stress can be a major fact in it, That’s why I decided to giving the Pay it forward card to my mom she definitely needed it to help her get by. I greatly appreciate what Mr. and Mrs. Washington do for this and think it’s a great gift and very giving. I enjoy working for modern machinery and is a great company, I’m a field technician and is important for me to give back in effort and work ethic, for appreciation for everything.

I gave my card to a family in need whos house had caught fire. Unfortunately they had no insurance and two very young children. I was glad to help them. I hope this Pay It Forward continues for a very long time.

Before starting at Modern I would do temp work and a lot of the people I would work with were not in the best places at this time of their lives. A couple of the men talked about how Catholic Community Services were the fairest temporary housing. They didn't make them attend any religious services; they just provided them a clean and safe place to spend their evenings. I wish that there were more places where people in that situation would feel comfortable enough to accept help.

I donated the Pay-it-Forward gift card to a local non-profit called Giving Backpacks. Giving Back Packs is a very simple concept. Handing out full backpacks to the homeless who have little or nothing. A pack full of clothes, toiletries, socks, blankets, food, and hope can sometimes be the difference between life and death to some. We don’t know their stories and we don’t claim to have all the answers, BUT one thing we do know is that we will not sit around any longer and do nothing. Since March of 2015 Giving Backpacks has handed out over 3000 backpacks to those in need.

I donated my card to the laurel health and rehab center. It is a home for elderly and disabled. The money went to their arts and craft department as well as their activity fund. So far the money has been used to purchase art supplies for residents as well as send them on a trip to red lodge, mt for an outing. The donation was extremely appreciated and it is wonderful to see it used for a great cause.

I choose to give my card to the Billings area Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity is a great organization helping families get into their own homes. In the past I have helped on some of the build projects and it has always been an uplifting and positive experience. The families are so grateful for all of the support and it is a wonderful opportunity for the community to give back to their fellow community members. I especially like how the organization requires so many hours of work from the family, it truly helps the family and give them a true sense of ownership of the home, even the children. Rather than just giving something for free.

Family friend was in the middle of relocating to a new residence in California and they had all their stuff in storage as they were in process of moving and the unit they were renting had severe water damage to the point that the roof collapsed. They lost 90 percent of their belongings that were in the unit (including daily needs like clothes diapers, as well as furniture and books) and being parents of a 4 year old and twins that were 3 months old they had a lot of things to replace. When I informed them of this donation they were very excited and felt blessed that our company had such a thing. The Alexanders send their deepest and most sincere Thank You .

When I saw the poster for the pay it forward giving card I knew right away who could use the help. A good friend from high school had a little girl four years ago named Finnley Grace who has been in and out of the hospital since she was four months old. Doctors thought she had developed Leukemia where she was then flown to Seattles children's Hospital. After many tests they determined that Finnley had E.coli in her blood and has sever combined immune deficiency. Finnley goes through weekly infusions to help keep her healthy which they have to fly back to Seattle for every couple months. While back in Montana she tested positive for Norovirus which then again made them go back to Seattle where they ended up living for a couple years. While in Seattle she has gone through many surgeries and procedures from GI procedures, Infusions, Bone marrow, Chemo, Hickman line and many more. In May 2019 they finally got some good news and they get to come back to Montana. Finnley and her mom are obviously extremely tough but could always use help after living in a hospital for four years. If you would like to know more about Finnley Grace or help her amazing family out there is a facebook page called Prayers for Finnley Grace which has a goFundMe account on it as well.

A family friend had the misfortune of losing there shop to a fire, In this fire they lost everything in it and a few other items close to that structure. One day I was over at his house I noticed that he lost his grill in the fire. With the money from pay it forward I was able to buy him the best grill I could find. His family has been able to use it a lot the last few days now that the weather has been nice. It has seamed to bring his family some joy after the loss of all the things they loved to do.

I chose to donate my Pay it Forward card to an organization called the Heart Locker. The Heart Locker provides students with clothing, food and a place to study if they are in need.

I have a heart for children, their little lives matter so much to me. This year I chose to give to Corvallis elementary school lunch program. Unfortunately too many children go hungry in our country, for some school lunches are the only meal a child gets in a day. It is my understanding that the school lunch debt throughout the United States is huge. The gift is so appreciated and brings me great joy to be able to help. I am grateful for the generosity of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation.
Thank you.

My son is a Senior at Stevensville High School and their Senior projects are community driven with a goal of giving back to the community. My son had already picked an organization, The Western Montana Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation Non-Profit horse center. He decided to do a Benefit O-Mok-See (from the Native Americans name for games on horseback). I was excited to get the card and gave it to Riley to use for high point awards for the horse event. We had snow the morning of the event in late April, it was a long winter, but the show went on and we had a good turn-out. Riley was able to present a check for $1,000 to the Rescue Center along with items from their wish list which included grain, wormers, veterinarian supplies, and treats.

It was used to purchase supplies and children's t-shirts for the local summer enrichment program, LINKS for Learning. They run 7 weeks of camp during the summer and 50% of their enrollment are children from low-income households. They accommodate working parents by operating Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. LINKS is the only comprehensive youth program in Livingston and fill a vital role in our community.

I was able to purchase supplies and children's t-shirts for our summer program, LINKS for Learning! We are an afterschool and summer program that serves Park County's youth from grades K-5. In the summer we run seven weeks of summer enrichment programming, Monday-Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It includes healthy breakfasts, lunches, and afternoon snacks as well as field trips. 50% of our enrollment is made up of children from low-income households. This donation made a huge difference!!

Thank you!!

I gave my card to my mom. Whenever i can help my mom out i do. She used the funds to fix costly repairs to her vehicle. She was diagnosed with MS fourteen years ago and unfortunately doesnt have healthcare. In those fourteen years ive never heard my mom complain once. And in my entire life i cant think of one time where my mom missed a day of work. If anyone deserves a break its her. Thank you for being so charitable, not just to my family but to my whole community in my hometown Butte Montana