Pay It Forward Stories 2023

Shortly before sign ups were released for Pay it Forward this year, I was contacted by a former co-worker that had moved out of state. He recently lost his 7 year old son due to a medical condition. This giving card was able to help with some of the expenses of the funeral for the family.

I gave my card to Montana Veterans Meat Locker in Billings.
"We have been giving quality meat away to Montana’s Veterans and their families for more than 6 years. Montana Veterans Meat Locker is bigger than one organization and its network. We are a family and take care of our own. Whether you want to collect meat, donate an animal from your ranch or hunt, volunteer, or take part in our exciting raffles, there is a place for you here".

I felt the gift card would be very beneficial to a family of which the grandparents had taken in two of their young grandchildren (unexpectedly) to raise. Already living on a fixed income they would need help to get food and other necessities for the children. Thank you for continuing to help those in our community when needed.

I used $100.00 toward the Western Montana Mental Health school program and then paid off all of the outstanding school children's hot lunch program bills with the rest.

The card was donated to a family whose father had been hospitalized with an infection in his foot. Some of his toes were amputated to stop the infection only to later have his entire foot remove when the infection had come back. He/they were very thankful and said it would go to hospital bills.

McKenzie Valley Young Life was the recipient of my Pay It Forward gift. Our river valley community was greatly impacted by the Holiday Farm Fire in September 2020. Almost 400 homes were lost as the fire raced 26 miles down the highway before being diverted by winds. Families experienced displacement, some for many months, and some are still waiting to “get back upriver”. Young Life (a non-denominational Christian ministry to youth) has been a source of connection, encouragement, and much needed recreation for our young people. The funds paid admission to Get Air, a multi-trampoline venue, for the whole middle school club, called Wyldlife. For some families, this would not be affordable, and trips to “town”, forty miles or more away, are infrequent. Kids and staff had an absolutely wonderful time together. Our Young Life leader, Spencer Wallace, has been the coach every season for middle schools sports, filling yet another void in our rural area. Thank you for providing such a great trip of fun and bonding! I have included a photo of the group at Get Air and the thank you I received for the contribution.
Kevin Carlson, Eugene Branch, Modern Machinery

The $500 the Garnet Preservation Association received is going towards the 2023 Garnet Day and will be used to plan a family oriented day held at Garnet Ghost Town. The day is filled with kids games, music, huckleberry ice cream, taffy from The Sweet Palace, pioneer craft table, a town sheriff, pie auction, gold panning and a history presentation. There is a pie auction along with concession. All the activities and supplies create expenses which have increased considerable the past two year. This donation has allowed us to keep our costs down and has allowed GPA to offer free ice cream, taffy and sarsaparilla to the community. Kids games are free and winners will receive a t-shirt. This donation also allowed us to offer concessions at a discounted price making the day affordable for the whole family. People will go back in time and experience a day full of activities during the late 1800's. All profits earned at this event helps BLM with interpretive signs and building restoration. A big "THANK YOU" to the Dennis Phyllis Washington Foundation for offering the pay it forward program to Modern Machinery and employee Tom Moran for choosing GPA.💕

Greetings,
Bill and I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation and its Pay it Forward Program.
Bill and Barb gave this gift card to us out of Love and concern, they were aware of the gantlet of financial, medical and health issues we were facing and the many un-certainties that surrounded us.
Your benevolence, along with theirs provided us some comfort and relief from the many challenges we faced.
We chose to use your generosity to purchase a set of new tires for our car, which will provide us with safe travel for years to come.

Thank you so very much.

Sincerly, Bill and Karen

I donated to the Billings Clinic for their women's health and Behavioral Health.

Thank you providing this $500 gift card to a well deserving couple. I was able to give this gift card to Edgar and Jenny Barreto. A husband and wife who put others ahead of themselves. Edgar who dedicates his life to helping others understand their body and how to move while preventing injury. Jenny is in the education service helping mold our city’s children. Edgar and Jenny have been on a journey trying to conceive a child of their own, (not a more worthy couple). However they have not had success consisting of 7 Yrs of trying, 4 IVF cycles, 1 half IVF cycle that did not make to the embryo cycle. This card will help with traveling costs as the start there embryo adoption phase. Thank you again for allowing me to give this gift card to them.

Watsons Children Shelter has a program to help families that are in tough times. I'm always grateful to help these families.

I belong to the River Valley Saddle Club which is an equine club that does O-Mok-See (games on horseback). It's a family sport with speed horse pattern racing and we have a lot of young families that ride so I donated the card to the saddle club to purchase fencing materials and gates for a safe play area.

This year, I donated my giving card to YMCA Missoula. I have family members in town who have benefitted greatly from the programs that the Y conducts, so it was wonderful to speak with them and learn about the good that the Y does in the community. After speaking with Kate at the Y, I was comfortable donating to them, which led to my girlfriend and I volunteering at the river run last May. Thank you to the foundation for your work putting this on!

The card I received went to two families in Anaconda, they are both struggling with life and thought it was a wonderful deal. The happiness that it brought to both families, words cannot express. I think this is a wonderful gesture that the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Corporation is doing for all communities involved in and around our area. Thank you so much from myself and the families.

This year for the Pay it Forward event, I gave the gift card to my daughter's Montessori School. It is a non-profit organization that allows mothers and children to come to school together and learn things from shapes to using proper manners. They used the funds to purchase a children’s dining set to teach the kids how to use table-side manners and etiquette during snack time.

I chose to dedicate my giving card to CASA of Missoula, a non-profit providing trained advocates for children within the judicial system who are at substantial risk, or have experienced abuse or neglect. They provide consistent, long-term advocacy until the child is safe and in a permanent home.

This year I chose to divide the card and distribute to two amazing families. This first family needed help with food and general household goods to assist their family of four to make it until school was completed for 1 adult (college)and 2 grade school age children. The other half went to a person in college in Montana to help with school costs and food.

I gave my card to a fantastic non-profit called Cole's Pantry, located in Bridger, Montana.
This program was started in 2010 after the accidental death of Cole Pelican in a horse riding
accident. His sister wanted to honor the memory of her little brother so they started
Cole's Pantry which provides weekend and summer food backpacks for hungry children in the
country. This grew to a state wide project and in 2017 they received a government award for
community service. Hard to believe we have that many children in Montana that go hungry
so they do a really good job helping those in need!

I gave my card to my home town (Lincoln, MT) gun range club. The person in charge of donations said they were probably going to use the money for moving materials out to the newly built rifle and pistol range. They really appreciate all the help Dennis and Phyllis has done for the local club. Thank you, JS

I gave it to a young single woman who had a young child and another on the way. She was barely getting by. The money from the pay it forward card definitely helped her with groceries, bills, or what have you.
Thank you for helping me to help someone less fortunate.

I donated my card to the Arlee CDC to help buy food for people in need and also to help with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which provides books to kids every month.

I gave my card to the Ronald McDonald home in Missoula. My son was born 6 1/2 weeks early and my wife stayed there for 29 days. They give families everything they need and a clean bed and a hot meal every night. It’s a great organization

I gave my card to BSW, Inc. which provides day services and residential programs for developmentally disabled adults.

I donated my card to my dad, who’s 96. He just recently moved into assisted living. Before the move he had been living on his own for the past 5 years. This card has helped with medical supplies, vitamins, etc. It’s been very helpful. My siblings and I have all helped him to get what he needs. Many thanks to the DPW Foundation for caring and sharing to others.
Sincerely, Pete

We gave the pay it forward card to the hockey association. The Salmon Hockey Youth, Mites and Squirts teams have been sharing jerseys when traveling to tournaments. The Salmon Hockey association used this card to purchase game jerseys for each team.