Pay It Forward Stories 2020

This year we had an employee killed in an avalanche it was heart breaking for so many of us I would like to pay it forward to his family.

I chose the Montana Hope Project to receive my Giving Card. They are a non profit organization that grants wishes to Montana's children with lifelong diseases or illnesses. I was once a recipient for the Montana Hope Project about 19 years ago. I was diagnosed with a severe case of Crohns Disease and Osteoarthritis at the young age of 10 on Halloween night. It is pretty rare for someone that young to get this disease and it hit pretty hard. I was in and out of the hospital for two years and missed a majority of 5th & 6th grade and had to to be home schooled. I also had severe depression for a long time thinking I could never be a normal kid again. The Montana Hope Project found out about my condition and a State Trooper (who at the time was the President of Montana Hope Project) came into my hospital room and asked me if I could have one wish, what would it be. As a ten year old kid, everyone's wish is to go to Disney World. So once I was feeling better, they planned an all expenses paid trip to Disney World for me and all of my family for one week. I will never forget that day I got that wish as a kid and I will always try and give back to this wonderful organization whenever I can since it did so much for me and my family and a time of need. There was no way my family could ever afford a trip like that at any time due to all the medical bills and stuff that we had. I eventually went on to give back when it was time for me to do my Eagle Scout Project when I was fifteen. I gathered a team of people who would go on to help me throw a Parents Prom at the Hilton Garden Inn. It was a very successful night, we granted another wish the same night of the prom to a three year old girl who had Burkitt's Lymphoma and raised $25,000.00 dollars to help pay for her wish along with 3-4 other wishes on top of it. This organization means a lot to me and I will always try to contribute whatever I can back to them. I want to thank the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation for putting together this awesome way to contribute back to the community and having the employees getting involved with it.

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. Alot 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!

I gave my card to Mike Coyle, He suffered a stroke in January. He is in rehabilitation and therapy. It will help with his medical expenses . It is really nice to be able to give like this. Mike is a pillar in the Drummond community.

I gave the card to Whittier elementary to be used for books for bikes. The school will be able to purchase 5 bikes

I am giving it to the frenchtown little league so that they can do up keep on the fields bleachers and for new equipment for the catchers and helmets for players

I have chosen the following organization for my Pay It Forward Donation.
Old Dog Haven
Located in Oak Harbor, Washington
This 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 surgery's and medications.

Alex Barker is a senior at Capital High School in Helena. A few months ago he was diagnosed with Leukemia. He is currently responding to treatment at the Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. As an athlete he knows how to win and I have no doubt he will win this battle. Because of his positive attitude along with his family, I feel he is the perfect recipient of the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation donation. Thank you for the opportunity to help this young man and his family.

I chose to give my Pay It Forward card to a deserving, single mother of two children. She works two jobs to provide for her family. She does the best she can to make sure the children enjoy a few extra curricular activities, like karate. I thought she could use the extra money for anything she wants whether it be household necessities or extras that she usually is unable to provide. She nearly cried when I gave it to her, so I am confident it will be put to good use & truly help this family out.

I brought my care to Franklin School - there is a lot of financial need there. Kids showing up with no supplies, no winter coats, etc. It can go a long way to help a lot of kids and families out!

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

I gave my card to a young mother who had twins a few months ago. She had complications with her pregnancy and had to miss a lot of work, putting the family in a tough place.

Two weeks ago one of the twins got an infection and was unable to recover. He died in surgery.

This money will help pay for funeral costs and medical expenses. Thank you very much for helping this young family during this very difficult time.

Mary

I gave my card to the Bair family in Butte. Their son, Hayes Bair was diagnosed with Supraventicular Tachycardia at 11 weeks old during a visit to his physician. Supraventicular Tachycardia is an abnormal fast hearbeat and is common but Hayes didnt respond to the medication and had to be life flighted to Denver for more advanced treatment. He will continue a long battle with fighting this as he is still too young (11 months) for the medical procedures to help him fight this. His mom, Jordan Blair, was very thankful for the Payitforward donation to help them out as in May they are headed back to Denver for a procedure to help him.

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.

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.

Prairie County Hospital in Terry Montana
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.

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.

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.

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!!!

I contacted Stacey Rossmiller, Food Service Supervisor for Missoula Public Schools and asked which schools had the most unpaid lunches. She stated that there are many kids who cannot afford lunches but do not qualify for assistance. They are placed in the reduced lunches program but frequently fall behind. The 2 schools in most need at this time are Franklin and Russell Schools. I delivered the card to Stacey and she will take care of paying the most delinquent to current lunches for the reduced lunch category.

I gave the giving card to a family that was in need of food for there home. There are so many people in this world that work hard and still need help providing for there family. I myself know what it is like to struggle to put food on the table. i was glad i could help.

I donated the generous gift card to the Butte Outfitters. This program aims to help the youth of Butte by providing essentials (clothes, personal care items, etc). Children often are victims of circumstances. They don't always have the opportunity to provide basic essentials for themselves. I feel this program will benefit greatly from the generosity of Washington Corp as it is in its infancy.

Last year i helped the Clinton community center start a youth archery program and used my Pay it forward card to buy 8 archery targets. This year I used the card to buy 2 more bows and some more arrows to replace the old and worn out bows that we had.

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.

I decided to use my card to purchase underwear and socks for the Tumbleweed program. This organization helps homeless teens in the Billings area. People always donate food and clothes, but no one ever thinks about socks and underwear. These items have to be new for them to use them. Luckily I have a Sam's Club membership and was able to maximize my card and purchase several packs of each item for the program. Hopefully it will help.