Archive for May 25th, 2012
Pay It Forward Fund
We’ve considered the subject of ‘paying it forward’ on several occasions – including a blog post on Pay It Forward Day. Today I’d like to bring to your attention a Pay It Forward Fund that I have come across.
Michelle Morey (a breast cancer survivor) and her husband started the fund almost accidentally in 2005. Having just successfully completed her treatment Michelle wanted to donate money to help other cancer sufferers, but on making her first monthly donation to the North Memorial Foundation she discovered that the patient it was scheduled to help had just had her water turned off at home, because she couldn’t pay her bill.
Michelle and her husband immediately decided that their monthly donations wouldn’t be enough, so they set up the Pay It Forward Fund, with 100% of all monies raised going to help breast and women’s cancer patients pay their bills, thus freeing them from such worries while they are undergoing treatment. Each patient receives $1,500 to cover their living expenses, including filling their gas tank, to get them to the hospital. The payments (which total around $20,000 each month) are made through the North Memorial Foundation.
But here’s the unique bit: recipients needn’t feel embarrassed about accepting the money, because some day they will ‘pay it forward’ to help someone else. The charity’s website says “Some recipients have paid it forward by donating to our fund, while others do so in more tangible ways like offering rides, preparing meals, volunteering to help with childcare, or making phone calls and sending cards to show their support.”
Pay It Forward Fund’s next fundraiser is a 5 Mile Walk/Run and Concert Celebration, due to take place on the 15th of July 15 at the Orono Intermediate School.
