Pay it Forward Updates

The Times-Tribune July 1, 2008

Cathy Labori

Great and wonderful things are happening with The Times-Tribune’s and Community Bank & Trust Co.’s Pay It Forward Challenge. To get started, here’s a recap and status report on our winners are doing. They have until July 31 to complete their act of kindness….

Marianne Edwards:
The $500 Reader’s Choice went to Marianne Edwards of Tafton. Marianne’s idea was to give $500 worth of gas cards to Brendan Kizer and his family to help offset travel expenses to Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia for his care and chemotherapy. Brendan, a junior at Wallenpaupak High School, was diagnosed with Stage IV Burkitts Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, an extremely aggressive cancer. His family makes several trips to Philadelphia every month. We received over 1,700 votes. More than 770 voted for Marianne’s idea. An overwhelming amount of the votes were received via our Pay it Forward web page. Marianne did an amazing job of getting the word out in their community to support the Kizer’s and get online to vote. Her hard work certainly paid off.

Status: Complete
On June 25, Marianne presented $500 of gas cards to Brendan and his parents Tim Hughes and Robbin Kizer at their home in Hawley. It was so wonderful to get to know them. Brendan is an awesome kid with a great “this is not gonna beat me” attitude. Despite his own battle, he strives to set a positive example to some of the younger children at Children’s Hospital. It has not been easy for him or his parents. They have been through plenty. In addition to doing all they can to beat this disease, they are dealing with the financial stress of traveling back and forth to Philadelphia as well. They are so grateful to Marianne and the program. The $500 in gas cards will be a huge help to them. They thanked everyone involved over and over again. They would especially like to thank everyone who voted for Marianne’s idea. So for Brendan, his family and Marian, thank you. Before I left, I filled them in on our other Pay It Forward winners. When Brendan’s Dad heard that a wheelchair ramp was to be built, he immediately wanted to donate his time to help build it. Now that is the true meaning of paying it forward. And now for the best news of all. Brendan has recently been told he is cancer free. He still has months of treatments left ahead of him but that’s okay with him. He has proven the statistics wrong and can’t wait to be back in school some day.
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Leslie Jacobson Bordo:
The $500 Community Bank & Trust Co. Choice award went to Leslie Jacobson Bordo of Dunmore. Leslie’s idea was to use the $500 as seed money to do a fundraiser for the Women’s Resource Center by calling and writing to area businesses for donations. Her goal was to double her winnings by the July 31 deadline. Leslie is compassionate about her idea since she herself is a victim of domestic violence. She never believed she would find herself in this situation. The Women’s Resource Center was there for her when she needed help and continues to provide support for women and children in domestic violence situations. With the help of her 13 year-old son, the money she raises will be added to the $500 prize. “This would help show the WRC that I want to give something back” said Leslie “I can’t put a price on all they have done for me in the past year.”

Status: In Progress
I spoke with Leslie on June 25. Not only has she doubled her winnings, she has raised over $1,400. That does not even include the $500 prize plus she still has until July 31 to complete her task. Meeting Leslie was like meeting a woman who has been reborn. She is a beautiful, energetic, and compassionate person who not only was thrilled to be chosen to receive the $500 for the Women’s Resource Center but truly credits the program with giving her the opportunity to come out from the cloud she has been under and prove to herself that she can accomplish great things. And boy, can she! She has put together a very organized fundraiser. With the help of her son, they have created mailing and call lists. They have sent out many letters that explain the Pay It Forward project, her experience with domestic violence and the fine help the WRC has given her through it all. She wraps up with a request for a donation. They are keeping thorough records as well. She is grateful to everyone who has donated so far and hopes the donations will continue to come in. Leslie has more than surpassed her goal. We are very proud of her and her son. She can be an inspiration to many women in the community.

 

Debbie McDermott:
The $500 Community Leader’s Choice award went to Debbie McDermott of Scranton. The money will help Debbie with her plan to have a wheelchair ramp built for the Gallagher family whose daughter Brittney was born with a genetic disorder that left her severely handicapped. Without a ramp, her parents must pull her wheel$500 money to buy materials for the ramp. They have an extensive network of family and friends to provide the labor. It would certainly make Brittney a little safer.

Status: In Progress
When Debbie came to pick up her $500 check, she said she already had many volunteers lined up to help build the ramp. In addition, I gave her the name and phone number of a woman who called in to let us know that she had a ramp built just a month ago for her mother who unexpectedly passed away. She wanted to donate the material if they could use it. In addition, Tim Hughes, Brendan Kizer’s Dad, immediately wanted to donate his time in helping build the ramp. Brendan’s family was the recipient of the $500 Reader’s Choice award. How’s that for paying it forward. Debbie will keep me informed on her progress and is more than positive about completing it before the deadline.

Other Great Pay It Forward Activity:
There were two more great Pay It Forwards as a result of the program. One area businessman contacted us and wanted to take Judy Baer’s idea and make it a reality. He will be providing her friend with the hearing aids she so desperately needs. Another called and took on Maryann Burne’s idea. He has arranged to supply her with specially designed toys to aid her as a speech therapist for children with developmental and communication problems. These men became their angels in disguise. We were thrilled that they stepped up to help pay it forward. We’ll keep you updated on their progress as well.

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You can Pay It Forward too:
Look around you. Is there a way you can help a person or organization in need with an act of kindness? We can all pitch in somehow. Listed below are some of the organizations that were identified from all the idea entries received. If would like to Pay It Forward, please contact them. I’m sure they would appreciate it.

Compassionate Friends, Scranton
Boys & Girls Club, Scranton
Schaeffer’s Retreat, Carbondale
US Military
Abington Manor, Clarks Summit
Shriners Hospital, Philadelphia
St. James Manor
Scranton Rescue Mission
Gino Merli Veterans Center
The Bread Basket
St Francis of Assisi Kitchen
Foster Parents Association of Lackawanna County
Salvation Army
Humane Society of Lackawanna County
The American Red Cross
ICC Hill Section Food Bank, Scranton
Moses Taylor Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
St. Judes Hospital
Timmy’s Town Center
St. Joseph’s Center
The Friends of the Arc Auxiliary
Main Line Rescue, Scranton
Safe Haven
Grattan Singer Hose Company
The Catherine McAuley Center, Scranton
United Sports Academy, Dunmore
Craniofacial Disorder Retreat
American Cancer Society
Abington Little League
Challenger Little League
Abington Community Gardens
Little Sisters of the Poor
Boy Scouts of America
Oakmont Neighborhood Playground
Catholic Social Services
Multiple Sclerosis Society