Pay It Forward Stories 2020

I donated the Giving Card to a local schools backpack program. The program helps vulnerable families, here in our community, that face tough decisions to feed their kids or putting gas in their vehicle to get to work. The funds were used to buy shelf stable food for 3 families with kids ranging in age from 6 to 17. All of the families expressed gratefulness and expressed a small sense of relief.

Thank you for allowing me to be part of such a great program.
Craig

I chose to give my Pay it Forward card to Youth Homes.

Because of the Youth Homes organization, over 12,000 at-risk children in Western Montana have be given the opportunity to experience childhood in a safe and secure place to call home since 1971. Each day they serve over 300 children and families through their emergency shelters, therapeutic group homes, foster care and adoption programs and counseling services. Over 90% of these kids improve their grades and stay in school and nearly 95% graduate or get their GED. Most importantly, the Youth Homes provides kids the chance to be a kid and work on building healthy relationships that will be their base for moving forward as a healthier and happier adult.

For the past several years I have run the Missoula Marathon as part of the Run 4 Kids team. Though this, I've had the opportunity to list to several of the kids tell their story and to hear how appreciative they are to have members of the community offering to help them. We are so fortunate to have a group like Youth Homes to advocate for these kids.

Thank you to the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation for this opportunity to Pay it Forward.

Hello, I gave this giving card to a really good friend of mine who has helped me in some of the most difficult times of my life. His name is Frank Winnberg of Trout Creek Montana. Frank is a Vietnam Veteran, He's active in the community and in his church. I am truly blessed that this man is in my life.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to bring some happiness to Frank.
Sincerely Zachary Archer

I want to first start by saying "Thank you!" to the Dennis & Phyllis Washington foundation for granting me the opportunity to help a local family in our neighborhood. It's hard to express how rewarding it is to work for a company that gives so much back to the community. I gave the "Pay it forward" card to a local family who had their baby very prematurely. Being blessed with two healthy children of my own, I can not imagine the mental and financial challenges they faced having Mom and baby in Billings and the Dad and other children at home for a couple months. The arrival of the pay it forward card seemed to be perfectly timed and I was able to award it to the family for their belated baby shower just days later. Thank you again to the foundation for providing me the opportunity to make a difference in someone's lives.

Well first off, I am a veteran of the US Air Force. I chose to give to the USO this year for a couple of reasons. Of course they support our active military members by providing aide, assistance and entertainment when they are on the move all around the world, not just in the U.S. They provide rest, food and layover facilities at most if not all International Domestic Airports for the enlisted personnel and their families. They provide entertainment and support at overseas locations for the troops. One thing they did recently for instance, they sent out people dressed like the Easter bunny to Military installations like Travis AFB in northern California and delivered Easter baskets to the children living in Base housing. My daughter and son in law are stationed there with their 3 daughters. It was very much appreciated. So as you can see the USO is one of those organizations that deserve our support. I give to the USO on a regular basis.
God Bless!

I would like to sincerely thank the Washington family for their continued generosity. I presented my giving card to the Youth Ministry at my church, Crosspoint Community Church. Our Youth Group has been working very hard to raise money to take a trip to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter. The $500 gave a big boost to their efforts and will help them achieve their fundraising goal much quicker. The gift card was an absolute blessing that will help advance the education of our Youth Group while also advancing the good works of the Lord.

Thank you again!

I want to thank the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this amazing program. I gave this card to my mother-in-law who recently lost her husband of 58 years to cancer. This helped her with funeral costs.

I decided once again to give the pay it forward card to Watkins Children's Center in Missoula. Their charity events have been seriously curtailed or cancelled this year. They were very happy to get it.

I gave my card to Imagination Theatre, a child non profit theatre group. The arts are sorely lacking for children in the
area where I live. The donation will be used for sets, scripts and rights, for K thru 12 year olds. The group puts on 4-8
performances a year and involves from 3 to 45 children at a time.

The card was used at the High Altitude Skating oval. The oval has become vital part of the community for winter recreation. Many kids and families use it and has become quite popular especially on the weekends. The money was used to replace several large windows in the warming hut that provide a great view of the skating. This has been on the to-do list for awhile and is nice to get it done.

A good friend of my family recently had a baby, the little boy was born with a heart condition and required surgery at the age of three months. I gave them the Giving Card to help with travel expenses to the Denver hospital. Little Lyam has a long way to go before he is out of the woods, but for his family being able to be with him as he was going through his ordeal was a God send.

Thank you Dennis and Phyllis!

John

I gave this card to a family deeply affected by the Covid-19 stay at home order.
As they were laid off from their jobs, things got tight and this was a help in keeping the household running and help them thru a tough time.

They were beyond thankful for the gift and have asked me to pass on their thanks to the Washingtons and everyone involved in making the Pay-it-Forward cards possible. So thank you!!!!!

We really did make a difference.

First and foremost, thank you for the opportunity to be a part of the Pay It Forward program this year! We used our card to donate, in memory of our pup, to the Mission Valley Animal Shelter.
With the pandemic in full swing, we thought we would order supplies and have them shipped to the shelter, but most places were out of stock or there would be a long delay in receiving them. We ventured out to purchase food and much needed items for the shelter. We loaded up the back of our vehicle with over 300 lbs of wet and dry food, specialty food, kitten replacement milk, treats and much love for what they do, and delivered to the appreciative staff at MVAS.
They were extremely grateful for the donation and would like to thank the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for their generosity!

So I’m giving my Pay It Forward card to the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter in Billings, MT. They are a very deserving non profit organization and they cannot be given enough. For all these people do for not just the community but for the many animals that are either abandoned or taken in because they are lost they cannot be given enough. I am a huge animal lover and have adopted animals from this shelter. I cannot thank the DPW Foundation enough for giving me this opportunity to do this great deed. Thanks again.

I chose two give two individuals a prepaid visa for 250$ a piece. These two recipients have impacted not only my children's lives but countless others in the years i have known them. I believe strong communities begin with strong support at home and strong support at school. These two teachers have donated countless time, energy and money over the years and i thought it fitting they were given back to. Thank you for the opportunity to pay it forward in my community!

First off I would like to thank the Dennis and Phyllis Washington foundation for this Wonderful opportunity to help others in need, I chose to Gift my pay it forward card to a single mother in my community who has been extremely down on her luck, With two children to take care of and being forced out of work due to a severe injury I couldn’t think of a better person to forward this to! In the past I know she has contributed to my community in various ways Such as fundraisers, donations, and Other simple acts of kindness! Thank you again Dennis and Phyllis Washington for such a gracious opportunity, I know myself and other recipients are looking forward to this opportunity again!!

During 2019/2020, I was fortunate enough for my employer, Montana Rail Link, to invest in me and put me through the Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Missoula program. Among the many valuable sessions and days that I was able to experience through this program, one of the most impactful to me was the Human Needs Day.

During Human Needs Day, one of the establishments that we toured was the Missoula Food Bank. While touring the Missoula Food Bank, I learned of the power-packs program for school children; they were putting together nutritious snack-packs and meals for school-children on the weekends as many of them depend on their school meals for their nutrition, and end up going hungry over the weekends. Having an 18-month old at home, this was really hard for me to hear, and certainly encouraged me to try and be more involved in humanitarian efforts such as this.

When I learned I was a recipient of the Pay It Forward card, there was very little hesitation in my mind of where it was going; I would give it to the Missoula Food Bank and ask that they use it toward their nutritional program for school children.

This pay-it-forward program is such a neat way to allow our employees to give back to their communities, as well as empower them as to where they would like to give. I am very thankful for this opportunity to be involved in the generous giving of the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation, and the Missoula Food Bank was very thankful for this (and this program) as well!

I purchased two $250 gift cards to give to two families in need. The first family purchased meat from a local butcher so they should have meat for a few months anyways. The second family used it to pay their past due propane bill which they use for heat. So overall it was a perfect year

I donated my Giving Card to Denver Children's Hospital, I donate to them every year.

I gave the gift card to a friend in need. Has been liv8ng in his camper for 3 year and needed a generator. I was vary mucb appreciated.

I gave my card to my friend Debbie. She has C.R.P.S. that goes throughout her whole body and is in continuous pain. She is unable to work and the medications she is required to take by her doctors is experimental and not covered through medicaid. These funds helped her with her medical costs. She is very thankful for the Washington Foundation for giving her this opportunity.

I gave the card to a friend of mine who is a single mother of two beautiful little girls. I gave her the card to help her and the girls get through the tough times that of course included the covid-19 pandemic.

The pay it forward grant of $500 is donated to Special K Ranch, a non-profit facility caring for mentally challenged children and adults. The facility houses, feeds, encourages, trains, and gives purpose to a group of folks not supported as a whole in our society. The ranch offers opportunity to learn, socialize, and contribute in meaningful projects.

A portion was used to help children in my neighborhood clean the local park, the remaining amount was used to help the employees at the daycare which my wife works at due the diminished hours as a result of the covid crisis.

I gave my giving card to ZooTown Crossfit's Crossfit Kids program. The card was used to purchase equipment for the kids' program. Crossfit Kids is a fitness program for children ages 5-12. The programming focuses not only on mechanics of movement, but also building confidence, discipline, and a sense of camaraderie among the young athletes. Photo from Crossfit.com