Pay it Forward Stories 2019

Our giving card enabled our program to throw our first annual Open Your HEART Summer Block Party to celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of summer. Since we work through the school district with hundreds of students experiencing homelessness, summer can be a hard time for students who will lose integral support systems the day that school ends. We decided to try and educate the population we work with about summer programming, resources, and organizations that exist to help them thrive during the summer months without school. Families and the community as a whole were invited to a COMPLETELY FREE event on the last day of school that was filled with music, fun, food, prizes, and games! Over 600 people attended our event, learned about our program, and also learned about other programs in our community. Over 24 local nonprofits, organizations, and businesses set up tables with information and giveaways regarding summer resources they offer! In addition, the local hospital system sponsored over 700 meals of hamburgers and hot dogs. For fun we had a petting zoo, fire trucks, carnival games, a rock wall, bounce house, face painting, horses, and so much more! The best part about the event was the ability for anybody to attend since we were able to utilize generous donations from places like the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation to cover overhead costs and assure that every thing was free for all community members. It was warm and sunny, and hundreds of students & families had the time of their lives. And more importantly, the families that we serve were able to learn about programs and resources that are out there to help support them that they did not know about otherwise.

THE PAY IT FORWARD CARD IS ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT ANY WORDS CAN SAY. WHEN YOU SHOW UP AT SOMEONES DOOR WITH A GIFT
AND TELL THEM WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT, HAND THEM THE BOXES OF FOOD. THE SMILES, HUGS AND TEARS ARE MORE THAN THE WORD THANKS CAN EVER SAY. MY PAY IT FORWARD CARD WENT TO TWO FAMILIES THIS YEAR. I PURCHASED GOODS FROM THE MEAT BLOCK IN BUTTE MT, STEAKS, ROASTS, PORK AND DELIVERD TO THE TWO FAMILIES, THEY WERE VERY VERY APPRECIATIVE AND SMILES FROM EAR TO EAR. ONE LITTLE GIRL EVEN ASKED “MOMMA WHAT IS A SEASONED STEAK?” THANK YOU FOR GIVING MONTANA RESOURCES EMPLOYEES THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE AND BRIGHTEN SOMEONES DAY THROUGH THE DENNIS AND PHYLLIS WASHINGTON PAY IT FORWARD CARD.

SINCERELY, MONTANA RESOURCES EMPLOYEE
TYKE GALLE

I donated my Pay It Forward $500 gift to Alexa Bachler, daughter of MRL Locomotive Engineer Josh Bachler. Alexa suffers from a rare disease called Juvenile Dermatomyositis. It is a chronic illness that she will have for the rest of her life. The goal is to get it into remission.

Alexa goes to Children's Hospital in Seattle twice a year, and gets treatments in Billings, and one treatment at home every week. It is a skin and muscle disease, and she is highly sensitive to sunlight. The treatment she gets weekly is a small dose of chemotherapy. Alexa has been getting treatments since December of 2017, after being diagnosed at the age of nine. Dad Josh says, "She's tough and we have learned a lot from her."

As an MRL Locomotive Engineer myself, I have personally worked with Josh over the last several years, and have learned firsthand of the emotional and financial challenges he and his young family have been coping with. I feel his daughter Alexa is the perfect candidate to Pay It Forward to, and I proudly offer her this gift of $500 on behalf of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation.

Andrew G. Guirguis
Locomotive Engineer
Montana Rail Link, Inc.

Help For Homeless Pets Is a small non profit no kill organization. We have helped thousands of dogs and cats in our community For over 20 years.
We could not do this good work without the support of employees like Kenneth Goodman. Also Employers such as Montana Rail Link and foundations like yours that helps support the efforts of organizations like ours.
This donation came at a critical time when we were left unexpectedly with 20 young baby kittens with no mothers and kittens were in very bed shape. Respiritory problems and malnourished. They needed bottle fed and antibiotics. Our volunteers spent many hours caring for them requiring 20 cans of kitten formula and lost sleep. Then came vaccinations and prep for their new homes including spay and neuter.
Thank you for your support from these little faces and many more tha that benefit from your good work.

I gave the gift card to a woman from my church. She is a refugee from Eritrea, where Christian's have been persecuted openly by the Eritrean government since 2003. She walked to Ethiopia where she lived as a refugee for six years. While she was in Ethiopia, she was reunited with her childhood sweetheart. They were married became pregnant. Her husband had an opportunity to leave Ethiopia and go to Switzerland while she was still pregnant. She has not seen or heard from her husband since he left Ethiopia. She was finally able to leave Ethiopia in January of 2017 after four years. She came to Missoula through Soft Landings and lived in a motel with her child for six weeks in the middle of winter. She learned how to drive and passed the drivers test, including the written portion, without knowing English. She has since learned English and works tow jobs to support her six year old daughter. Recently, she was contacted by her brother, who told her that he had been contacted by her husband in Switzerland. She is traveling to Switzerland to see her husband for the first time since he left Ethiopia. This will be the first time her daughter will meet her father. I gave the money to her and her daughter to use for this trip. Haman's positive outlook and hard work in the face of adversity is inspirational.

My Pay-It-Forward card was given to Travis and Kari Wafstet. The Wafstet's became foster parents a little over two years ago to two children who needed a home after the childrens' parents were incarcerated. Since that time, Kari and Travis adopted these two children, and had another child of their own. My wife got to know the Wafstet's a few years ago. The Pay-It-Forward card was given to the Wafstet's to help them with their everyday needs in raising their children.

normally I donate to women's health to help out women who could not afford to pay for their annuals but this year I recently watched a very special lady that I called my second mom and she referred to me as her daughter number 2 die from Alzheimer's. I watched her go from a very active kind lady who loved life and her family and harassing and teasing me to just sitting in her wheelchair staring not able to feed herself, talk or recognize any of her family to just lying in her bed not able to get up or barely move to passing away in her sleep. that was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

Dear Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation,

Thank you for the opportunity to give a $500 Charitable Giving Card to a well deserved Billings Public School.

I chose to give the 1st/2nd multi-age classroom at Arrowhead Elementary School in Billings, MT my Pay it Forward card. Arrowhead Elementary is my neighborhood school and is an exemplary K-5 school in our district. This neighborhood school works very hard to promote a positive, safe and academically challenging environment. Their school motto is “Building knowledge, character, and community in each child.”

Arrowhead was fortunate to be able to make each of their primary classrooms, kindergarten through 2nd grade 1:1 iPad classrooms. These classrooms have also been given extensive training on using those iPads to create pieces of work and journal about those works in SeeSaw for Schools. The 2nd grade team was in need of some good quality, kid-friendly headphones to make creations easier to edit and listen to in this open-classroom school. These headphones will also be used in facilitation of classroom centers using technology such as Listening to Reading, math fluency applications and sharing of created videos throughout the very diverse curriculum.

I appreciate your awarding me the opportunity to share my Pay it Forward story and look forward to gifting another deserving classroom in the future. It feels great to give back to our community’s most worthy investment, the children of Montana.

Sincerely,
Bryan Tieszen
Train Master/Road Foreman -Billings/Laurel Yard

The Meridian Library received a Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation “Pay it Forward” giving card from Dennis Gerwig, a Modern Machinery employee. Michele, a Community Specialist with the Meridian Library Outreach department, had been looking for memory tools to provide the library patrons she works with. What followed was exciting! The giving card was used to purchase items to create Memory Care Kits for caregivers to check out and use in helping memory-impaired adults. Each kit includes a Dementia caregiver guide book, a community resource guide, a DVD, book and a hands on activity all centered around a theme. The kits were designed to use sensory to stimulate memories. Books in the Memory Care Kits were developed specifically for memory-impaired adults to revisit and share memories through the reading experience. The Memory Care Kits made available for check out were checked out within hours. The demand has been high and the library plans on creating additional kits. The “Pay it Forward” giving card became a catalyst to help the Meridian Library make an idea into a reality. As a result of the Memory Care Kit development and success, additional kits are being prepared, library collections are being expanded to include more memory-impaired items and additional needs in the community have been identified.

I gave the card to Shawn Lannen, 4H archery instructor for Sweet Grass County 4H. He used the card to purchase 3 new genisys bows. He was also the recipient of last years card which he used to upgrade archery equipment for two shooters that qualified for the national event. Thanks to the upgrades, both shooters did extremely well one finishing 15th overall and one 7th overall. Their successes led to an increase in new shooters joining the program, over half under the age of 12. The 3 new bows purchased with this years card are designed for smaller, younger shooters just learning how to shoot but are versatile enough for the shooters to use as they grow older and stronger. Thanks to the DPW Foundation this will allow them to have quality equipment to learn to shoot for years to come. Thank you again!!

I split the card into smaller gift cards. I gave them to family's i have known to be in need.

I split the funds between two Special Eduction teachers at Chief Charlo Elementary School in Missoula, MT, Sara Abgeris and Bethany Gardner. Both used the funds for classroom materials and educational supplies. Both teachers work hard for the education of mentally and physically disabled children and frequently have to pay out of pocket for materials and supplies. For the 2019-2020 school year, Bethany will be assigned, for the first time, a full sized classroom and is using the funds to set the classroom up for the betterment of her students.

I gave my card to a single mom in need. I didn't just give the card away, i waited until she had all her grocery picked out and went up to the tile to check out, i got into line behind her and when they got done totaling it all up the balance was about $425 and i just said you can consider that paid for mam . I told the person running the tile i would pay for it. I explained this pay it forward program, and work has allowed us to do and give back to the community . She broke down into tears and couldn't thank you guys enough. i than gave her the remainder of the cards balance and told her she could use it like a credit card.

Thank you again for this wonderful experience

My gift card was given to two people who have spent their lives doing for others and it was wonderful to be able to give them a little bit of what they have always done for others, my parents. My father has incurable cancer and has battled it for almost 20 years. His spirit and will to live every day as a gift has inspired everyone who knows him. The gift card was used to help them with additional expenses incurred to modify their home for my dad to be able to continue to live in the house he loves. They are wonderful people and it was a privilege to be able to gift it to them.

I gave my pay it forward card to the laurel garden health and rehab center for their activity and craft fund. My mother is a resident there, and the money is used to purchase art supplies and pay for ice cream and movie outings for residents. I really appreciate Washington Corp and the pay it forward program that allows us to do this. Thank you

We were able to help a young man with schizophrenia meet some of his basic monthly expenses. Pay it Forward is an awesome program and very much appreciated.

I gave my card to Brian Moody, father of two, who was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma brain cancer in July 2018. He had his first surgery July 11, 2018 and went through 6 weeks of radiation and chemo therapy. They put him on a clinical trial that last two months but then the tumor came back. He was then referred to MD Anderson in Houston Texas. He had his second surgery and will have to go Houston every three weeks for IV infusions.

I gave the card to a couple who are trying to have a baby for them to put towards their expenses and medical bills that go along with in-vitro.

I chose to give this pay it forward card to Brittney and Kadyn Davis. This is the widow and daughter of Cole Davis. Cole was an employee of Montana Resources, who died in a tragic auto accident outside a company Christmas party in 2017. Cole's absence as a coworker has left a huge void within the MR organization. With that being said, it is unimaginable the void that is present with Brittney and their young daughter Kadyn. Although this card wont bring Cole back, I feel it might bring his widow and daughter some comfort and remind them that Cole is gone but not forgotten by MR and those that Cole so greatly impacted.

My husband Tom was given the gift card and then gifted it to me as I am a troop leader for a Livingston girl scout troop. We used the card to buy supplies for our troop and used it to provide snacks for our troop meetings. We appreciate the gift card as it gives us an opportunity to come together and teach our young girls some awesome things.

Thank you so much,

Daisy Troop 2004

The card was gifted to the Sentinel High School Theatre Department. We used the money to purchase tools to help build sets for our plays. We were also able to purchase a new tool cabinet to keep all of our new tools organized.

I donated my card to the local YMCA in Missoula. The YMCA has a long history of helping under privileged youth lead healthier lifestyles. The card was specifically used in the Y's swim program.

in the fall of 2018 a teenager in the community was diagnosed with optic nerve glioma and lost his vision in one of his eyes. The family has had to make a numerous trips to Salt Lake City over the past year for radiation and appointments. Just a super nice family and an awesome young man. The tumor has not grown and he has regained some vision in his eye. I do not know the family that well but the mother sent me this text

"Hi Josh, I hope its not too late tonight I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my and my family's hearts for the gift card from the Washington Foundation. You will never know what that meant to us and to Max to know that someone did this for him. Thank you so much."

First of all, thanks to the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for the privilege to be a part of the Pay It Forward Charitable Giving Program. This is an amazing program, with incredible impacts being realized to many people and groups.

I donated the giving card to Silver Bow Kiwanis, which I have been a member of for over 9 years. The giving card was specifically given to support their Pancakes for Playgrounds initiative, with the giving card not only allowing for additional cookware and utensils to be used for years to come, but also for food for the 2019 pancake breakfast. The Pancakes for Playgrounds fundraiser is a key fundraiser for a major emphasis project that the Silver Bow Kiwanis group is undertaking. The goal of the project is to repair and/or rehabilitate multiple "pocket" playgrounds within Butte-Silver Bow that may have been neglected through the years. The purpose of this is to help to serve some that may be underprivileged, or merely lack adequate transportation to get to some of the larger playgrounds throughout Butte-Silver Bow. The donation was greatly appreciated, with a return on investment well into the future!

My wife is the drama teacher at sentinel high school in Missoula, every year when their productions come around I see her and the kids make something out of nothing so I gave it to the drama department at sentinel high school. I usually help them build the sets for their plays and musicals and the tools they use are in very bad shape so they used this opportunity to buy some new tools to help with that.