Pay it Forward Stories 2019

Thank you to the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation for the Pay it Forward Employee Charitable Giving Program. Chris Houck, with Envirocon, chose to pass the donation along to Jefferson Preschool's deaf and hard of hearing class, where his nieces attend preschool with 10 other kids who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have immediate family who are deaf or hard of hearing. The class provides a wonderful learning environment where both American sign language (ASL) and English are used. The educational support team includes teachers of the deaf, interpreters, speech/language pathologists, and paraeducators who work hard to meet the various needs of the students. This team does an amazing job of teaching the kids in a fun and exciting way - they've played musical instruments including the drums, guitar, harmonica, and harp; they've learned all about the alphabet in ASL and English; they've read so many books; they've sung and signed a lot of songs; they've played outside in the snow, rain, and sunshine; they've worked hard in ASL lessons and activities; they've made a lot of art with paint, crayons, scissors, and glue; and they've learned so much about the seasons, farm animals, bugs, plants and on and on! The teachers were able to use the donation for a field trip to the insectarium, classroom supplies, and early literacy materials. One of the special classroom supplies is a book stand so that the teacher has both hands free to read books in sign language to the kids. Thank you for your kind and generous donation!

The card was donated to the Stevensville High School "food closet". This program is to help supplement food and personal hygiene needs for high school students as there is not a program like the "backpack program" that is funded by the state for this age group. The individual who is pioneering the food closet has been spending her own money to help keep food and supplies replenished when donations are not coming in. I was told she averages $200-$300 a month out of her own expenses. I felt this program was a great option for the Pay It Forward program. With the $500 on the card enough food, snacks and personal hygiene products were able to be bought to get them through the end of the school year and into the beginning next school year. The lady that runs this program was extremely grateful for the donation and was amazed at the generosity.
There is another amazing thing that happened for this program because of this donation. Word got out that there was a $500 donation for this program and a challenge was put out to the community to match it. A company in town wrote a $500 check to match the Pay It Forward donation and then $500 in cash and food were donated. This $500 Pay It Forward showed this community a model generosity and charity that they were able to mimic in a way that will further allow this "food closet" to help the high school kids at Stevensville High School.

Jim Miller in Butte has a delivery business. He started a backpack/school supplies drive for kids that can’t afford them. So I bought 48 backpacks and stuffed 12 with school supplies for 3-8 graders.

We informed the hospital that we wanted to give the card to a family that had fallen on hard times/unexpected medical issues. The hospital did some research and found a family that fit what we were looking for. The card was mailed to that family.

Twin Bridges High school Arts program was facing large cuts do to reduction in school funding. We felt that that the art program gives kids an opportunity to experience different artistic techniques that they would not other wise get to experience. Art classes are an avenue that many students flourish in that may struggle academically. It is an avenue that they can express themselves and gain self esteem. The art teacher( Mrs. Meirs) was able to buy art pencils, canvases, mosaic tiles, and many other art supplies to provide for students that other wise the school may have had to charge students for. Twin Bridges is a small community and many are strapped financially with very little excess finances. The Pay it Forward donations has allowed the art program to continue normally for at least another year, making it possible for equal opportunity for all students to participate in with out undue financial burdens on some families.

Havre Trails, Inc. is a nonprofit organization located in rural Havre, MT. Havre Trails (HT) has a mission to promote healthy lifestyles, safety, access to outdoor recreation, and a pride of place by improving the walking and biking trails in Hill County, MT. Havre Trails is the go-to organization in Havre for hiking and outdoor recreation and, each year, HT hosts a summer hike series, an outdoor Summer Brewfest, a fall stargazing event, and several other recreation-related events throughout the year. The summer hike series sees nearly 40 participants per hike, and the Summer Brewfest had nearly 1,000 attendees in 2018.

Hill County is proud to be home to the largest county park in the entire United States, Beaver Creek Park. One of the main goals of Havre Trails is to conduct outreach about the existing trails and outdoor activities in Beaver Creek Park and the surrounding Hill County area. HT is also dedicated to expanding the trail system in Beaver Creek Park. In the last year, HT has completed construction on 1.25 new miles of trail in the park. The new trail is called Rotary Canyon Loop Trail. This year, HT plans to expand the trail with an additional 1.25 miles of trail.
With the Pay It Forward Giving Card, Havre Trails was able to purchase a handheld GPS machine and a map chip to be used with the handheld GPS. This equipment will be extremely valuable in assisting Havre Trails to map existing trails in the Hill County area, to scout new trail routes for continued trail construction, and to create maps and marketing materials to help promote the hiking and recreational trails in Hill County. Additionally, being able to create data points with the GPS to create route maps will allow HT to upload trail information to popular hiking apps like Hike Wild Montana and All Trails.

Being able to market existing and new trail routes via Facebook, the local Chamber of Commerce website, brochures, apps, and other social media outlets will help to get residents outdoors and help to attract people from outside of the county, including out-of-state and Canadian visitors. With additional visitors coming to the area for hiking and recreation, the town of Havre and surrounding area will benefit economically with more people staying overnight in hotels, shopping at local stores, purchasing gas and food, and enjoying the other amenities that Havre and Hill County have to offer.

Havre Trails is very grateful to the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation for their generous support of outdoor recreation in rural Montana through their donation to Havre Trails. Thank you!

I gave my card to my mom. Whenever i can help my mom out i do. She used the funds to fix costly repairs to her vehicle. She was diagnosed with MS fourteen years ago and unfortunately doesnt have healthcare. In those fourteen years ive never heard my mom complain once. And in my entire life i cant think of one time where my mom missed a day of work. If anyone deserves a break its her. Thank you for being so charitable, not just to my family but to my whole community in my hometown Butte Montana

I was able to purchase supplies and children's t-shirts for our summer program, LINKS for Learning! We are an afterschool and summer program that serves Park County's youth from grades K-5. In the summer we run seven weeks of summer enrichment programming, Monday-Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It includes healthy breakfasts, lunches, and afternoon snacks as well as field trips. 50% of our enrollment is made up of children from low-income households. This donation made a huge difference!!

Thank you!!

It was used to purchase supplies and children's t-shirts for the local summer enrichment program, LINKS for Learning. They run 7 weeks of camp during the summer and 50% of their enrollment are children from low-income households. They accommodate working parents by operating Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. LINKS is the only comprehensive youth program in Livingston and fill a vital role in our community.

My son is a Senior at Stevensville High School and their Senior projects are community driven with a goal of giving back to the community. My son had already picked an organization, The Western Montana Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation Non-Profit horse center. He decided to do a Benefit O-Mok-See (from the Native Americans name for games on horseback). I was excited to get the card and gave it to Riley to use for high point awards for the horse event. We had snow the morning of the event in late April, it was a long winter, but the show went on and we had a good turn-out. Riley was able to present a check for $1,000 to the Rescue Center along with items from their wish list which included grain, wormers, veterinarian supplies, and treats.

I have a heart for children, their little lives matter so much to me. This year I chose to give to Corvallis elementary school lunch program. Unfortunately too many children go hungry in our country, for some school lunches are the only meal a child gets in a day. It is my understanding that the school lunch debt throughout the United States is huge. The gift is so appreciated and brings me great joy to be able to help. I am grateful for the generosity of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation.
Thank you.

I chose to donate my Pay it Forward card to an organization called the Heart Locker. The Heart Locker provides students with clothing, food and a place to study if they are in need.

A family friend had the misfortune of losing there shop to a fire, In this fire they lost everything in it and a few other items close to that structure. One day I was over at his house I noticed that he lost his grill in the fire. With the money from pay it forward I was able to buy him the best grill I could find. His family has been able to use it a lot the last few days now that the weather has been nice. It has seamed to bring his family some joy after the loss of all the things they loved to do.

When I saw the poster for the pay it forward giving card I knew right away who could use the help. A good friend from high school had a little girl four years ago named Finnley Grace who has been in and out of the hospital since she was four months old. Doctors thought she had developed Leukemia where she was then flown to Seattles children's Hospital. After many tests they determined that Finnley had E.coli in her blood and has sever combined immune deficiency. Finnley goes through weekly infusions to help keep her healthy which they have to fly back to Seattle for every couple months. While back in Montana she tested positive for Norovirus which then again made them go back to Seattle where they ended up living for a couple years. While in Seattle she has gone through many surgeries and procedures from GI procedures, Infusions, Bone marrow, Chemo, Hickman line and many more. In May 2019 they finally got some good news and they get to come back to Montana. Finnley and her mom are obviously extremely tough but could always use help after living in a hospital for four years. If you would like to know more about Finnley Grace or help her amazing family out there is a facebook page called Prayers for Finnley Grace which has a goFundMe account on it as well.

Family friend was in the middle of relocating to a new residence in California and they had all their stuff in storage as they were in process of moving and the unit they were renting had severe water damage to the point that the roof collapsed. They lost 90 percent of their belongings that were in the unit (including daily needs like clothes diapers, as well as furniture and books) and being parents of a 4 year old and twins that were 3 months old they had a lot of things to replace. When I informed them of this donation they were very excited and felt blessed that our company had such a thing. The Alexanders send their deepest and most sincere Thank You .

I choose to give my card to the Billings area Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity is a great organization helping families get into their own homes. In the past I have helped on some of the build projects and it has always been an uplifting and positive experience. The families are so grateful for all of the support and it is a wonderful opportunity for the community to give back to their fellow community members. I especially like how the organization requires so many hours of work from the family, it truly helps the family and give them a true sense of ownership of the home, even the children. Rather than just giving something for free.

I donated my card to the laurel health and rehab center. It is a home for elderly and disabled. The money went to their arts and craft department as well as their activity fund. So far the money has been used to purchase art supplies for residents as well as send them on a trip to red lodge, mt for an outing. The donation was extremely appreciated and it is wonderful to see it used for a great cause.

I donated the Pay-it-Forward gift card to a local non-profit called Giving Backpacks. Giving Back Packs is a very simple concept. Handing out full backpacks to the homeless who have little or nothing. A pack full of clothes, toiletries, socks, blankets, food, and hope can sometimes be the difference between life and death to some. We don’t know their stories and we don’t claim to have all the answers, BUT one thing we do know is that we will not sit around any longer and do nothing. Since March of 2015 Giving Backpacks has handed out over 3000 backpacks to those in need.

Before starting at Modern I would do temp work and a lot of the people I would work with were not in the best places at this time of their lives. A couple of the men talked about how Catholic Community Services were the fairest temporary housing. They didn't make them attend any religious services; they just provided them a clean and safe place to spend their evenings. I wish that there were more places where people in that situation would feel comfortable enough to accept help.

I gave my card to a family in need whos house had caught fire. Unfortunately they had no insurance and two very young children. I was glad to help them. I hope this Pay It Forward continues for a very long time.

Its been hard for me and my family the last couple years its definitely been very trying to say the least. We’ve had to deal a couple deaths in my family that has turned grief and turmoil into our lives, especially for my mother. My mom and dad have been married for 44 years My dad always took care of my mom He had a successful business and my mom was a stay home mom who took care of her children. I had two brothers and two sisters so she always had her hands full.
My dad passed away two years ago he would be 63 years old this month. When he passed everything for my mom came to abrupt stop and sent her world into a confused and sad mess. My younger brother worked at the shop for my dad so he stepped in and tried to run the business but it wasn’t doing to well at it, but at least my moms mortgage on the shop and house was being made and she was taken care of. My dad had no retirement and no life insurance so mom pretty much had nothing. Then when things we thought may be getting better everything came to another scary halt. My brother was in a snowmobile accident this winter, me and my other younger brother were with him when he wrecked his sled into a ice wall. My brother died on impact. This was devastating to my family, especially my mom, he was kind of always her favorite and also was keeping the business and my mom afloat. I’m in no position to be able to do the business and do my job with modern. I gave any extra money I had saved to my mom, and that has strained my life, we are still coming out of the hole from my daughter, she had a life threatening issue which caused her to go through a liver transplant, one of the most scariest times of my life and heart wrenching.
So with all these events that happened I know life can be short and stress can be a major fact in it, That’s why I decided to giving the Pay it forward card to my mom she definitely needed it to help her get by. I greatly appreciate what Mr. and Mrs. Washington do for this and think it’s a great gift and very giving. I enjoy working for modern machinery and is a great company, I’m a field technician and is important for me to give back in effort and work ethic, for appreciation for everything.

I am honored to be able to support my high school friend and classmate (currently battling complications of her own), as she has committed to riding 500 miles in the Great Cycle Challenge to raise awareness of Children's Cancer Research Fund. Over 15,700 children are diagnosed every year, and sadly, 38 children die of cancer every week. Kids should be living life, not fighting for it.

Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation
2019 Pay It Forward Giving Cards:
When I heard of the Pay It Forward program I immediately though of my bother in law, Jamison Challeen. When I met my husband to be, Kevin in 1990, Jamison was 12 years old. He was funny, artistic and head strong.
In the last 5 years Jamison has lived in Corvallis, OR. He fell on some hard times with physical and mental health issues. During that time, he also saw the birth of his daughter Seraquin. He has been a very hands on Dad and eventually gained sole custody of his daughter. He is currently working towards a certificate to be a mental health counselor. At the same time, he is also working at McDonalds. His plans are to move back to Montana to start working in mental health and to be closer to his family. Unfortunately, he lost his drivers license with a speeding ticket. The fines ended up totally $800.00. This is a huge amount of money on a limited income. The fines must be paid in cash. This has been a hardship. Jameson has done what many people do and that is juggle money around.
He has used the Pay It Forward cash to pay for bills, Seraquin’s Boys & Girls membership and a few father daughter dates. This has allowed him to build up some cash in his checking account to pay down the fines.
Below are some conversations we have had concerning the card and his plans.
Jamison:
“Oh I finally got it. I'm bawling now. This is gonna turn our shizz around...just the boost we needed...now I can get my license back and get a real job for real money with real hours! And I can return to my family and my homeland...You guys...I don't think I could have made it through all these last few years without you, and I know I wouldn't have survived this long in the world had you not been part of my life since I was 12. I get feisty, temperamental and butt hurt but I've always thanked the heavens for sending you into our lives. Most importantly for how you take care of my brother...the best man on Earth!”

Amelinda: “Glad you got the card. You have always had a special place in my heart. Even though at times you stepped all over it. I think you needed time to grow and figure a few things out. And a few punches in the arm as a wake up call.
When you are closer to moving keep us posted.”

Amelinda: “I am touching base to see how things are going with your drivers license. I am going to write the paper for the Pay It Forward program soon. How did you end up spending the money? Hope you are starting to feel better.”

Jamison: “I have been stymied in my efforts to get my license this week as SQ has woken with 101 fever and I have to take care of that, though I'm going to make payment arrangements today. I still have most of the money on that card, as I've been using it in place of my debit card for nonfood items so I can save the money in my account for the tickets. So it's been spent on gas, some eating out (when I was too sick to cook), some entertainment (like going to see Shazam). So basically I'm just shifting my household (nonrent/ power/ phone) bills to the card so I can use the money paying off my $800 in fines (for getting a 15 mile over speeding ticket, and not reporting to court, which I thought was admission of guilt and you just pay the fine, but here in Oregon, they revoke your license, if you don't go back to the town's traffic court witch runs half a day once a month. So, I don't know, I'm feeling way behind the 8 ball here. But, though this seems whiny, I'm under the impression that all this is just the final layers of obstacles so I can back to MT.”.

Jamison: “The transactions are mostly small things, Like I pay SQ's boys and girls club, and i've used it for our daddy daughter dates (where we go to eat) and my plan is to continue to use it for things like that (gas, food) anything I would spend my regular money on so that I'm not using what's in my checking so I can use that as a lump sum for the ticket. Probably the most confusing way of doing that, I know. And I don't know how to communicate that I'm using the money and it is going towards things we need, and is the only reason I can pay my ticket right now. But I can put a few more bills on the card as well.”

Jamison: “Used it today to pay for her Boys and Girls club...I have no clue how much is left on it, but paid off two months today. Should have my license in two weeks! This asthma kicked me off my feet and set me back three months, but now every day is a step closer to getting home.
We are hoping Jamison and Seragquin are able to move back to Montana this summer. The $500.00 was a start to this goal to create a new life with a new career and be closer to family. Thank you for your generosity.
Sincerely,
Amelinda Olson

I choose the Superior little guy wrestling program this year. It is a non-profit organization that is free of charge for your child to participate in. They used the gift card to purchase new wrestling singlet that where overdue to be replaced.

Gave mine to a family in need whos house was damaged by fire.