Pay It Forward Stories 2022

I gave my card to my nephews family. My nephew was murdered in January. One left behind his wife and 4 young children ages 13,8,1 1/2, and 1 month old. He was tragically taken from his family leaving them all behind while trying to build a new home and just having a brand new baby. Baby was 7 days old when he was shot and killed. This has put not only emotional strain on this family but also financial strain. I felt giving them this was the least I could do to help with groceries, diapers or paying bills. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity and help for my nephews family.

I used my gift card to help a neighbor out. He is a retired veteran, on a fixed income, and was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. The cancer treatment and medication is a big drain financially, on his monthly expenses. I went with him to our local Walmart and maxed the card out on a mix of household items that he needed.

My giving card went to Camp-Mak-A-Dream and the annual RATPOD (Ride Around the Pioneers in One Day) Bike Ride fundraiser. Camp-Mak-A-Dream is basically a ranch, near Gold Creek Montana, that provides a "Montana ranch experience" for children dealing with cancer. The "campers" come from all over North America, traveling to Missoula and then out to Gold Creek. Those that attend the week long camp experience all sorts of activities, most of which are exclusive to life on a Montana ranch. The RATPOD bike ride is a 127 mile, one day ride, with as many as 650 riders. Each rider solicits donations and the proceeds go to Camp-Mak-A-Dream. Riders have raised as much as $640,000.00 in a single year!! The ride is the single largest source of funds for the Camp. Campers have zero cost to attend and can now bring a family member with them to camp...due to the substantial funds raised by RATPOD riders. I have ridden RATPOD 18 times and have enjoyed meeting hundreds of campers and even more riders...from all over the United States. The most amazing part of the weekend is listening to the stories told by the campers. They may be in treatment, in remission or even in a terminal situation. Stories are funny, uplifting, life changing and, sometimes, heart wrenching. One thing the stories have in common...they are all filled with gratitude and memories of a wonderful time in a very special place.

I gave my card to another co-worker. Chris Casagranda's wife passed way January 29th, 2022 leaving him 2 daughters to raise on his own.

Thank you dpw foundation. I am giving this to a single mom that struggles to make enough money for bills and food. My wife and I will take her to a grocery store to stock up on food.

I donated to a young girl that is a cheerleader that has a hard time making it to all of the competitions because of funds. Me and my wife have had three girls in cheerleading and know how expensive it is. She tries her hardest to fund raise and go to school and work we know that this will help her ease her mind on how much she needs to make to keep cheering and hopefully let her just be a kid and not have to try to run around and earn money to keep doing this sport. She is a good kid and I am proud that she is doing what she’s doing so that is why I decided to donate to her.

This year we gave the card to a homeless single mother we met camping by a local restaurant. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to help her out!!!!

My giving card was given to a young family from the Butte/Anaconda Area. Their son, Quinton, was born with SMA, Kerrie, Quinton's mom, wrote the following.

Our son Quinton was born 12/22/2021. He has been quite an exciting little man since then, he had a short stay in the NICU in Missoula for a bowel obstruction at birth. Shortly after we brought him home to Anaconda, we were informed that he had tested positive on a newborn screening test for a disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

SMA affects the bodies ability to make the survival motor neuron Protein. This protein is responsible for keeping your neurons alive and functioning. Without neurons your body will not be able to breathe, digest foods, or move normally. SMA is a rare disease that affects 1 in 11,000 births. The recessive gene that carries this condition is fairly common however, with 1 in 50 adults being a non affected carrier. In order for a child to get the condition both parents must pass the gene on.

Good news! There is a fairly new and promising treatment for SMA available. It is called Zolgensma and it is currently the most expensive drug in the world at a whopping $2.1 Million per dose! This treatment uses a harmless adenovirus to give an affected individuals neuron cells a copy of the gene that their body is missing, so that Survival Motor Neuron (SMN) proteins can be made by the body to keep neurons alive!

Little Quinton received this life changing treatment at the billings clinic on Groundhog day 2/2/2022 at 6 weeks old! His lucky day! As a result we are hopeful that our little boy will meet milestones like normal respiration, swallowing, sitting, standing, and walking, only time will tell!

However, we will continue to travel back and forth to Billings for Doctor appointments and for Quinton to attend Muscular Dystrophy clinics. Zolgensma is not a cure, he still has SMA and we must continue to monitor him closely for signs of Motor neuron damage. All the treatments available only slow/stop the progression of the disease, they cannot repair damage that has already been done.

We are so thankful to have been selected by Jackie Blom to be a recipient of the pay it forward card, we will use the funds to help pay for medical care, medicines, and travel back and forth to Billings over the next coming months!

Thank you Montana Resources! We are also thankful that SMA was newly added to the MT newborn screening panel in March 2021 as we had no idea, and no prior family history of this terrible disease.

Please everyone keep our family in your thoughts as our older son ( age 3) is still being tested for SMA! We hope that he does not have this disease!

Quinton was the first outpatient at the Billings clinic to receive this treatment, and he was the 1st baby to test positive for SMA on the newborn screening.

We are forever grateful to everyone who has helped us!

Sincerely,
Kerrie, Brian, Weston, and Quinton Berger

Check out:
www.curesma.org
together we can CURE SMA!

I chose a young lady who has been diagnosed with advanced stage cancer in her 20's. She will have to manage a treatment plan for the rest of her life. Despite having a full time job and health insurance, there are many expenses that simply aren't covered.

I am grateful to provider her with a pay it forward card to help with the extra things that are coming her way.

Thank you very much for the opportunity.

I am donating my Pay it Forward to the Shriners Children's Hospital.
It is such a great organization.
My daughter went there to help her with her Scoliosis.
Every child is welcome there at no cost.
I can not say enough about the caring and hospitalization that they provide for children.
They were very thankful for the donation.
The Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation will be prayers.

Mitch Chapin

I gave the Pay It Forward card I received to a relative who is having a hard time making ends meet. This person will be using the card for basic living expenses. Thank you so much to the Washington Foundation for this generous gift it is appreciated very much.

I have chosen to give my pay it forward to a young gentleman with spinal bifida. With his condition he needs monthly medical supplies that are not completely covered by his insurance. This card will go a long way in helping with those expenses.