Pay It Forward Stories 2022

I gave my card to a young family who works extremely hard and needed money for every day struggles they were very thankfull for the gift to help them to get ahead a bit

Earlier this year, our friend's toddler started the year with some medical mysteries which were causing their son extremely swollen lymph nodes and facial swelling. After various doctors appointments, surgeries, and sleepless nights, their son endured his third big procedure and finally got the troublesome lymph nodes removed in his neck, some of which were almost grape-sized. Also, recently he got to meet with an infectious disease doctor and was given the green light to be officially off antibiotics while we just keep an eye out for any more irregular nodes. He is recovering well and returning back to good toddler spirits. All of this stress and uncertainty was a difficult way to start the new year, and included many unplanned medical bills for their family.

Thank you to the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation for providing such an incredible benefit to a family in need and add positivity to a difficult situation.

Hello, I chose to give my giving card to FtR as they provide a positive service for our area that benefits the horses and participant.

Equine partnerships allow the connection of mind, body & soul
Faith Therapeutic Riding Service, or FtR, was created to provide all people with disabilities a professionally supervised riding experience; Creating equal opportunity for all people, at all levels of ability; And to offer everyone the immense benefits and positive impact of equine assisted activities.
Therapeutic riding has provided social, educational, and recreational opportunities to individuals with disabilities for more than a century. By utilizing the special bond between humans and horses, Equine Assisted Activities benefit students of all ability levels both inside and out.

•Students can begin our therapeutic riding program at four years of age.

•Safety is our number one priority, for the rider and the equine alike.

•Students will learn skills for independent horseback riding as well as enjoy fun activities while on horseback.

•Adaptations are made as necessary so that students can reach their fullest potential

•Classes are taught in a private or group format by PATH Intl. certified instructors in conjunction with trained volunteers. (Private lessons are available for an additional fee.)

•Students become prepared to participate in other exciting events including: Special Olympics, horse shows, inclusive summer camps, and other continuing education series.

Lessons are performed by a PATH Intl. certified therapeutic riding instructor, and riders participate in activities on our safe, calm, and patient horses.

Therapeutic Riding teaches skills to participants as a recreational activity. The participant influences the horse to reach the goals.

Your timing is impeccable as the exec just mentioned this morning that she is going on our spring supply run. Your generosity is going to help us get the care and supplements necessary to get the equine team all up and ready for another riding season. Also, we provide forever care for our retired equine partners and are therefore always appreciative of the ability to spoil and care for each member of the herd, whether they are actively serving or enjoying some well deserved time off.

My giving card was donated in full to a non-profit in our area called Little Critter Crew. This non-profit is run by three individuals that donate their time, resources, and houses in an effort to foster, rehabilitate, and re-home small animals such as rabbits, mice, rats, and Chinchillas. These animals are often purchased as "pets" for young children without the understanding by the parents that they require significant time and resources to be adequately care for.

Often times these animals will suffer injury from young children handling them too roughly, or the animals will fall into neglect as children quickly lose interest in an animal that isn't "entertaining" enough.

As the owners of two Chinchillas, we understand the amount of care and attention these animals require and the expense that just two exotic animals can incur. These animals also have a lifespan of up to 20 years, so the investment is very long term.

Little Critter Crew scours social media for animals that are being given away or sold cheaply and would likely go directly to another home that does not understand the responsibilities involved with owning and caring for them. They also perform rescues of animals living in abusive or inadequate care homes. All their intakes are fostered and taken in for health inspections and spaying/neutering before being made available for adoption. As a result, these animals may spend several weeks or even months being brought back to health and learning to trust humans again. As each animal requires a visit to an "exotic" trained veterinarian, expenses add up extremely quickly for each animal.

The individuals running Little Critter Crew are often short of funding and find themselves out of room to accept new intakes simply due to the overwhelming amount of animals that are discarded, especially after the holidays. Everything that they are able to do for these animals is due to donors helping to support them in their efforts and their own personal contributions.

We chose this non-profit simply because they are the voice for the smallest of critters and they have the biggest hearts for these animals. Their purpose is to rescue and re-home, and they can't do it without support from the community.

Although $500.00 was a mere drop-in-the bucket for their needs, they were overwhelmed by this gift and expressed true gratitude for the generosity of The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation.

Our colleague Jamie Redmon has a close friend who recently received some devastating news that their daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia Type B. I gave my card (through Jamie) to this family to help cover costs of care and travel for their daughter Paige Nichols. Paige was life flighted to Butte on February 2nd and has undergone surgery as well as begun chemotherapy in her battle. Paige is a fighter and is in my prayers along with her family.

Thank you to the Washington Foundation for providing this opportunity to help!

I gave my gift to Billings Scorpions Lacrosse. They will use it to ouch se equipment and help athletes succeed.

It was a hard decision this year for paying it forward. I decided on individual the question was how and who. After taking time to consider the options, I over heard a conversation while eating out. A young couple were saying how expensive everything is to live. They had to sell one of their cars and take on a second part time job. That's who and when I decided to pay it forward. I waited for them to be done with their meal and approached them. They were very thankful and grateful with some tears. These moments are a blessing and thank you Dennis and Phyllis for this opportunity to make a difference in a time of struggle for many people.

I gave my giving card to a close family friend Ceaira and Dante Casselman who's daughter was born at just 25 weeks to help with their bills that have been adding up. Little Mia Casselman was born at 25 weeks at
1lb,11oz and 13 inches. She has been in the nicu now for 16 weeks and just hit 7 lbs on March 25th, 2022. As of now they do not know when she will get to go home, but hopefully soon. This family has a long road ahead of them and anything helps.

I'm lucky enough to have been selected as a Pay-it-Forward winner several times, and each time I've donated to the USO. During my years in the Air Force, I went to some pretty remote and sometimes very unpleasant places. The USO was always there with care packages, prepaid phone cards to talk to family and friends, toiletry items, entertainment and so much more. The USO was a little piece of home that always traveled with us. It's my distinct honor to give back to the organization that gave me and my fellow Airmen so much aid and comfort so that they may continue to provide unwavering support to our men and women in uniform, no matter where they are. Their organization runs on donations from people like you and me; even a small contribution can make a big difference in a serviceman's life, just as they made a difference in mine. Thank you for the opportunity to give back in a big way!

I donated the card to the Bear Creek Buckaroos 4-H club. There are over 20 kids that are members of the club and they are planning on using the money for other charitable acts by paying it forward and also providing scholarships to 4-H camp for kids in need.

The club was extremely excited about the gift and especially the story of the Washington's Paying it Forward.

Thank you for this opportunity to help a group of young adults with a financial boost.

Tim Wolsky

This year I donated my card to my church who in turn helped a single mother that had car troubles. She in turn was able to fix her car so she could find employment. Thank you for choosing me again this year.

A co-worker of my wife's was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer (Squamous Cell Carcinoma) in January. With how deeply rooted the cancer already was, the local hospital was not able to before the necessary surgery to remove the affected areas. John & his wife were quickly swept off to a large medical center in Tennessee, where they still remain as he recovers from 3 extensive oral surgeries and undergoes radiation. This Pay It Forward will be a huge assistance to them to keep their household in Montana going while they are thousands of miles away.
Thank you for providing the opportunity for us to help families in our communities.

I gave my card to my Granddaughters kindergarten teacher. The reasons for my choice are: 1 My Granddaughter is a student and I like to use my card for something I have a connection too. 2 My girlfriend, who was a grade school teacher, passed away this past January. So I am giving my card in her honor. 3 Schools in general are terribly underfunded and the teacher I gave my card to was so appreciative of the donation. It really made me feel good to see her excitement at being able to better help her students.
Thank you to the foundation for allowing me to help out my community.

I gave the card to ducks unlimited as I have done in the past, the money was used for the banquet where we raise money to help preserve the wet lands.

I split the Pay It Forward funds between Animeals and Albert's Angel Fund, both animal rescues here in Western Montana. Both organization help feed and find homes for dogs and cats.

This year we discussed as a family the best way for us to pay it forward. Having recently moved back to Portland we have been overwhelmed by the homeless situation within the city and felt we needed to find a way to help. We decided to gift our card to Rose Haven.

"Rose Haven is a day shelter and community center serving women, children and gender non-conforming folks experiencing the trauma of abuse, loss of home and other disruptive life challenges. We break the cycle of homelessness by providing meals, clothing, first aid, mailing addresses, hygiene, restrooms, showers as well as educational programs and guidance through medical and social services. By meeting basic needs and building trust, we empower our guests to explore long-term change." (www.rosehaven.org)

We were invited to tour their facility and to meet with their staff to get a first hand look at what they do. So glad we chose Rose Haven to Pay it Forward.

For the second year in a row now I feel blessed to have participated in this program. No doubt it has benefitted the people we have chosen, but it has also pushed our family to have some wonderful discussions regarding giving back to the community. Huge thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Washington, this is such an amazing thing that you allow us to do.

I gave my Pay it Forward card to the Ronald McDonald House of Billings. When my brother was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor as a young teenager our family was able to stay at a similar establishment where he was being treated. It made a big difference being able to stay next to the hospital and to not have to worry about accommodation.
Thank you for the opportunity to pay it forward.

We used the giving card to support our son's speech teacher for the Washington Public School in Livingston. Our six year old had speech delay, something we have been working on since he was three years old and is now flourishing thanks to the dedication of the public schools and the speech department in particular. We are grateful for the opportunity to provide this gift to a program that has been so good to us.

About the time I received my giving card, I learned that an old friend was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She is a self-employed photographer and the primary breadwinner for her family. She specializes in weddings and as her symptoms have escalated, they have gradually disrupted her ability to work. I hope this card helps offset some of the medical costs they will incur or at least support the family with everyday necessities.
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She gave birth to her first child about a year ago (healthy baby boy) but has been experiencing severe health issues since. After multiple misdiagnoses, she ended up in the ER one night after exhibiting stroke-like symptoms. The hospital discharged her with migraine medicine. Exasperated, her husband demanded a CT scan, which revealed a sizable brain tumor over 3” in size on the front right lobe of her brain, near both her sinus cavity and her optic nerve.

She underwent surgery on February 21st to remove the tumor. There were a few complications, and the surgery ended up lasting well over 20 hours. Nevertheless, the medical staff successfully removed the tumor, and she was transitioned to the ICU. After several days, she opened her eyes and began being responsive.

Since that day, she continues to improve, but the recovery period is long. The initial pathology report indicated cancerous cells in the tumor, but a grade of intermediate aggressiveness. Doctors remain optimistic that the entire tumor was removed; they will continue to do regular brain scans to confirm.

I used to my giving card to go to a close family friend and their foundation. Their foundation is the Jayden Fred foundation. "The Jadyn Fred Foundation was established May 25, 2001. Jadyn was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 3. Her condition, Pancreatoblastoma, was only one of two clinically identified cases of its type on record. The other case, 20 years earlier, was that of a young woman in the Seattle area; not another case could be found for reference of treatment throughout the US." I encourage people to visit their foundation page and learn about it a little more. The family is a very nice and genuine family. Losing one of their family members and then turning around making a foundation that helps others and their families take a lot of effort but they enjoy ot everyday. They will be using the funds to prep for other events they put on throughout the year to contribute to the foundation. They were very appreciative of the gift card and said it would help a lot with various things. Thank you for putting this on for us as employees to help build our community closer and learn of other people's needs.

This year I gave my card to Mr. Tom Steele. Tom is known around the Mine here, he works for Hoffman R & M Services. Tom comes twice a week & services the porta-potty's located through the property. About a year & a half ago, Tom's wife suffered a stroke and Tom became her main caregiver, while continuing to work. With all this going on, Tom received devastating news, his prostate cancer is back. Tom has been fighting this while still working to provide for him & his wife. Just recently, Tom has been to week to work & has had to concentrate on his health. I hope by giving him this pay it forward gift card, helps him not worry as much about his finances. Thank you very much in helping me provide this for him & his wife.

I donated my card this year to a individual who feel on hard times this past year I do believe the individual was going to use on every day needs for the family

I decided to use my giving card to buy diaper wipes and youth clothing for children entering foster care. Often times, children are removed from their home and are in an emergency situation where they need PJs and an outfit for the next day until their personal belongings can be picked up. These children often do not get brand new clothes, so this will provide them a new set of clothing.

My card was donated to a family who had been struggling financially. The wife has been having some significant health issues and unable to work. Currently they were behind on some bills and needed some car repairs. The husband had been walking to work because his hours are prior to the buses running.
They did use the card to catch up on some medical expenses which allowed them to pay for the repairs needed on their car!

I gave the Pay It Forward gift to a friend who had lost her husband and she used it to help with the funeral costs. This gift is so meaningful to give to people who normally would never ask for help, but could use a helping hand when times get tough. Thank you for this program and for allowing us to be a part of it.